McCormick N, et al. - Via the administrative health databases in British Columbia, Canada the researchers identified 4,679 newly-diagnosed adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) of a population-based cohort to assess the incremental direct medical costs of incident SLE for the first five years post diagnosis and socioeconomic status (SES) impact on the incremental costs. In the first year after diagnosis per-person, direct costs for SLE averaged $13,038. Furthermore, the incremental costs of SLE during the first five years after diagnosis following the adjustment averaged $10,078 per-person-year. Hence, an association of low SES at SLE diagnosis with significantly-greater direct medical costs for the management of SLE and related complications was observed even in a single-payer and publicly-funded healthcare setting.