Relatives of lupus patients at increased risk for many other autoimmune conditions.

Relatives of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a higher risk of developing SLE and other autoimmune diseases compared with the general population, a population study found. For first-degree relatives of individuals who had SLE, there was also a risk of developing other autoimmune disorders. These included: Primary Sjögren syndrome (RR 5.87, 95% CI 4.89-7.05) Systemic sclerosis (RR 5.40, 95% CI 3.37-8.65) Myasthenia gravis (RR 2.95, 95% CI 2.04-4.26) Idiopathic inflammatory myositis (RR 2.77, 95% CI 1.45-5.32) Rheumatoid arthritis (RR 2.66, 95% CI 2.28-3.11) Multiple sclerosis (RR 2.58, 95% CI 1.16-5.72) Type 1 diabetes (RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.22-2.32) Inflammatory bowel disease (RR 1.39, 95% CI 0.66-2.91) Vasculitis (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.43-1.71) The authors noted that previous estimates had put heritability of SLE at 66%; http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/GeneralRheumatology/52689?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-07-22&eun=g721819d0r