Ethnic and Racial Differences in Autoimmune Liver Diseases

Purpose of the review

To discuss the ethnic and racial disparities observed in patients with autoimmune liver diseases, with special focus on epidemiology, patterns of inheritance, clinical presentation, and outcomes.

Recent findings

Black, Hispanics, and Asians with autoimmune hepatitis appear to have more aggressive clinical features, poorer initial response to standard therapy, and higher rates of complications including hepatocellular carcinoma, with worse survival than their White counterparts. African American and Hispanic patients with primary biliary cholangitis have more advanced disease at presentation and Hispanics appear to have lower rates of biochemical response to UDCA compared to non-Hispanics. African American patients with PSC are significantly younger at presentation and appear to have more aggressive liver disease when compared to European Americans.

Summary

The clinical presentation and outcomes of autoimmune liver diseases vary by ethnicity and race, with significant disparities reported in recent years. The goal of this review is to make clinicians aware of these differences to facilitate diagnosis and management of autoimmune liver diseases and eventually improve outcomes across various races and ethnicities.