Association of HLA-B*27 with ankylosing spondylitis in Kurdish patients.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*27 among a healthy Kurdish population and in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

METHODS

The prevalence of HLA-B*27 was investigated in 209 healthy donors recruited from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and in 41 diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis patients. The HLA statuses for the patients and healthy donors were determined by using the low-resolution Olerup SSP® HLA typing kits.

RESULTS

We observed that the prevalence of HLA-B*27 in healthy Kurdish donors was 3.8% (8/209). While the prevalence of HLA-B*27 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis was 65.9% (27/41 studied) with a P-value of < 0.01. The relative risk of having the disease is 12 times higher in individuals with HLA-B*27 compared to those who do not have it. The male-to-female ratio was 5.8 : 1 in HLA-B*27 positive patients. The disease onset is earlier in HLA-B*27-positive patients.

CONCLUSION

From this study, we can conclude that the prevalence of HLA-B*27 among the Kurdish healthy population is 3.8% and there is a strong association between HLA-B*27 and ankylosing spondylitis patients in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.