Clinical features of patients with mild systemic lupus erythematosus.

Clinical features of 16 patients with mild systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were compared with those of 21 control patients with moderate or severe disease. Age at the time of diagnosis of SLE was higher in mild disease group. The incidence of the coexistence of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) at the time of diagnosis of SLE was higher in patients who later developed mild disease. Anti-Sm antibody and decreased levels of C3, C4, and CH50 occurred less frequently in patients with mild disease. SLE patients with the coexistence of SS at the time of diagnosis of SLE may represent a subset with a benign prognosis.