Impact of Sex on Infection Risk in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that exhibits considerable diversity in terms of both clinical and immunological manifestations. Since its female-to-male ratio is around 9:1, it is well recognized that systemic lupus erythematosus mostly affects women, especially those of childbearing age. There is a greater susceptibility to infections in adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared to the general population. However, only a small number of studies have attempted to analyze this risk using real-life data, and even fewer have successfully assessed the influence of sex. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted, enrolling patients and dividing them into two groups based on their biological sex. Infectious episodes were identified from medical records and categorized by severity. Patients were stratified according to disease duration and treatment received. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculat
