Increased prevalence of systemic sclerosis in a native american tribe in oklahoma. Association with an amerindian HLA haplotype

Abstract

Full-blooded Choctaw Native Americans living in southeastern Oklahoma have the highest prevalence of SSc yet found in any population. A major risk factor for disease is a uniquely Amerindian HLA haplotype; however, additional genes and/or an as-yet-unidentified environmental exposure seem likely.