Dermatoglyphic study of systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Dermatoglyphic patterns were analyzed from two races of patients with SLE: a Mexican-American series of 27 females with SLE and 28 matched controls, and a Caucasian series of 28 females with SLE and 26 matched controls. Eighty-five measurements and 23 indices were analyzed. From these data, eleven parameters were statistically significant, four separating the Mexican-American SLE group from their controls and seven separating the Caucasian SLE group from their controls (P values < 0.002 to < 0.05). Only two parameters were significantly different between the two normal series, but nine parameters differentiated the Mexican-American SLE from the Caucasian SLE groups. A multiple linear discriminant function was computed using the most significant parameters. A misclassification rate of 25–30% was observed between patients and matched controls. Dermatoglyphic patterns have been shown to be genetically controlled. These data suggest a genetic abnormality associated with SLE.