HLA-B27 Prevalence in Arab Populations and Among Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis
The Journal of Rheumatology, 07/05/2012
Mustafa KN et al. – From these data one can conclude that HLA–B27 is present in about 2% to 5% among major Arab populations and that its prevalence in Arab patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is closer to 70%.
Methods- The prevalence of HLA–B27 was studied among 2579 unrelated healthy Jordanians, almost equally divided among Palestinian refugees and natives of Jordan, reflecting the general population of Jordan.
- The prevalence of HLA–B27 was also studied among 129 patients with AS, 70 from Jordan, and the remaining 59 from Qatar.
- HLA typing was performed by standard 2–stage micro–lymphocytotoxicity method.
- The authors also reviewed published English language studies of HLA–B27 in Arab patients with AS and general populations retrieved through Medline and cross–reference search.
- They observed that the general prevalence of HLA–B27 among Jordanians is 2.4%; while the reported prevalence ranges between 2% and 5% among major Arab populations.
- The prevalence of HLA–B27 among patients with AS is 71% in Jordan and 73% in Qatar, while the reported prevalence from pooled published data from various Arab populations is 64%.
