Racial Disparities Seen in Adverse Renal Outcomes for Pediatric Lupus

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the proportion of admissions with adverse renal outcomes decreased from 2006 to 2019, but racial disparities in outcomes persisted, according to a study published online April 6 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Joyce C. Chang, M.D., from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, and colleagues examined temporal trends in renal outcomes and racial disparities among hospitalized children with SLE from the Pediatric Health Information System inpatient database (2006 to 2019). Data were included for 20,893 admissions for 7,434 SLE patients: 32, 16, 12, and 8 percent were Black, Hispanic White, Hispanic other, and Asian, respectively.

The researchers found that over time, there was a decrease in the proportions of admissions with adverse renal outcomes. Black children had a persistently higher risk for adverse renal outcomes at any admission (odds ratio, 2.5 versus non-Hispanic Whites). The risk for incident renal outcomes remained higher for Black and Asian children, driven by end-stage renal disease among Black children and dialysis among Asian children (odds ratios, 1.6 and 1.7, respectively). There was no significant change in relative disparities over time.

“Pediatric lupus care has come a long way, but it is clear that as a community, pediatric rheumatologists need to be more intentional in our efforts to reduce health disparities and join forces with other specialties that have done so successfully,” Chang said in a statement.

One author disclosed financial ties to GlaxoSmithKline.

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