Table 1.
Description of the study population
| Patient characteristics, total (n = 109) | No (%)/median (IQR) |
|---|---|
| Age, years (n = 98) | 38 (29–49) |
| Sex | |
| Female | 104 (95.4%) |
| Male | 5 (4.6%) |
| Ethnicity | |
| White | 61 (56%) |
| Black | 14 (12.8%) |
| South Asian | 20 (18.3%) |
| Other | 11 (10.1%) |
| Not Specified | 3 (2.8%) |
| SLE duration, years | 10 (6.5–16.5) |
| 1997 ACR criteria | |
| Malar rash | 60 (55%) |
| Discoid rash | 15 (13.8%) |
| Photosensitivity | 59 (54.1%) |
| Oral ulcers | 68 (62.4%) |
| Arthritis | 97 (89%) |
| Serositis | 33 (30.3%) |
| Renal disorder | 44 (40.4%) |
| Neurologic disorder | 8 (7.3%) |
| Haematologic disorder | 63 (57.8%) |
| Immunologic disorder | 81 (74.3%) |
| Positive ANA | 96 (88.1%) |
| Disease activity | |
| SLEDAI score (n = 99) | 8 (4–14) |
| BILAG 2004, A or B in organ domain (n = 98) | |
| Constitutional | 8 (8.2%) |
| Mucocutaneous | 51 (52%) |
| Neuropsychiatric | 10 (10.2%) |
| Musculoskeletal | 51 (52%) |
| Cardiorespiratory | 13 (13.3%) |
| Gastrointestinal | 5 (5.1%) |
| Ophthalmic | 5 (5.1%) |
| Renal | 39 (39.8%) |
| Haematological | 3 (3.1%) |
| Low C3/C4 (n = 99) | 53 (53.5%) |
| Raised anti-dsDNA (n = 104) | 43 (41.4%) |
| Autoantibodies (n = 104) | |
| ANA antibodies | 99 (95.2%) |
| dsDNA antibodies | 58 (55.8%) |
| U1RNP antibodies | 34 (32.7%) |
| U3RNP antibodies | 1 (1%) |
| SSa/Ro52 antibodies | 20 (19.2%) |
| SSa/Ro60 antibodies | 37 (35.6%) |
| SSb/La antibodies | 6 (5.8%) |
| Medication | |
| Current oral corticosteroid use (n = 108) | 94 (87%) |
| Usual oral corticosteroid dose (mg) (n = 75) | 10 (7.5–20) |
| Current or previous antimalarial therapy | |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 54 (49.5%) |
| Mepacrine | 2 (1.8%) |
| Current or previous immunosuppressant exposure | |
| Azathioprine | 9 (8.3%) |
| Methotrexate | 5 (4.6%) |
| Mycophenolate mofetil | 53 (48.6%) |
| Tacrolimus | 1 (0.9%) |
| Cyclophosphamide | 8 (7.3%) |
Values are n (%) or median (IQR) as appropriate