HLA Bw46 and DR9 associations in Graves' disease of Chinese patients are age- and sex-related.

The HLA-A, -B antigens in 159 Chinese patients with Graves' disease were compared with those of 330 controls. The HLA-DR antigens of the patients were also studied in 100 normals. Analysis of the increased prevalence of Bw46, according to the sex and age of onset of disease of the patients, showed that the strong association of Bw46 resided with male patients (n = 58), Pc = 0.0000052, RR = 4.2. Although the frequency of Bw46 was also increased in female patients (n = 101), it was statistically not significant. For the DR9 antigens, the strong association with male patients was also observed, viz. Pc = 0.019, RR = 3.2. Males also had higher risks of Graves' disease if they had homozygous Bw46 at presentation. Further analysis by age of onset of disease revealed the segregation of significant association with Bw46 for the males at 1-19 yr, Pc = 0.0011, RR = 17.5 HLA associations (Bw46 and DR9) with Graves' disease in Chinese are observed primarily in males, especially those whose known ages of onset of the disease are between 1-19 yr (Bw46).