Dermatoglyphic study of systemic lupus erythematosus

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 less than 0.002 to less than 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.