To determine the clinical characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi Arabia in relation to human leukocyte antigen type.
A group of 91 rheumatoid arthritis patients, 72 females and 19 males were studied for the various clinical, laboratory and radiological parameters along with human leukocyte antigen-DR phenotypes. Since human leukocyte antigen-DR10 was most commonly associated with rheumatoid arthritis in our population, we compared those patients with human leukocyte antigen-DR10 to those without.
The comparison yielded differences in the presence of rheumatoid nodules, erosions, corticosteroid treatment, joint involvement at presentation, hemoglobin levels, and white cell count. Only the last 3 parameters showed a statistical significance.
Human leukocyte antigen type of Saudi patients with rheumatoid arthritis influenced the course of the disease but only to a limited extent.