Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; OMIM 152700) is a genetically complex autoimmune disease. Over 50 loci have been found to be robustly associated by GWAS in single ethnicities. We combined three GWAS’ datasets from two ethnicities: Chinese (1,659 cases and 3,398 controls) and European (4,036 cases and 6,959
controls). A meta–analysis of these studies found that over half of the published SLE genetic associations are present in both populations. A replication study in the Chinese (3,043 cases and 5,074 controls) and Europeans (2,643 cases and 9,032 controls) found 10 novel SLE loci. Our study reveals further evidence that the majority
of genetic polymorphisms exerting risk for SLE are contained within the same regions across the Chinese and European populations. Furthermore, comparing risk allele frequencies and genetic risk scores suggests that the increased prevalence of SLE in non–Europeans (including Asians) has a genetic basis.