Singaporeans and Permanent Residents with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Spondyloarthritis and Seeking Outpatient Care in Public Hospitals in Past Five Years

18 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) in each year of the past five years, for systemic lupus erythematosus and spondyloarthritis respectively, what is (i) the number of Singaporeans and permanent residents with the condition and (ii) the number of unique patients seeking outpatient care in public hospitals; and (b) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not available.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disease that has a wide range of clinical manifestations that can affect virtually any organ. Spondyloarthritis is the term for a group of diseases that causes inflammation in the spine and joints.

Available data on the total number of unique patients with SLE and spondyloarthritis seeking outpatient care at Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOC) in public health institutions (PHIs) over the past five years is presented in the table below: