Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and controls.
| Variable | No drugs | Hydroxychloroquine | Azathioprine | Prednisone | Healthy controls | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 12 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 18 | |
| Age (years) | 45 (29 to 78) | 42 (26 to 66) | 47 (28 to 64) | 46.5 (18 to 71) | 40.5 (21 to 57) | 0.518 |
| (median (range)) | ||||||
| Sex (male/female) | 4/8 | 1/16 | 1/12 | 0/14 | 4/14 | 0.068 |
| Duration of disease (years) | 8 (2 to 43) | 9 (3 to 45) | 10 (4 to 29) | 5 (1 to 36) | 0.730 | |
| (median (range)) | ||||||
| Influenza vaccination in | 8/4 | 1/6 | 12/1 | 2/2 | 4/14† | <0.001 |
| the past (yes/no) | ||||||
| Influenza vaccination last | 6/6 | 7/10 | 12/1* | 9/5 | 1/17† | <0.001 |
| season (yes/no) |
The Kruskal‐Wallis test was used to compare all groups for age and duration of disease, Fisher's exact test was used to compare all groups for sex and for influenza vaccination in the past/last season.
*p = 0.026, patients on azathioprine v other patient groups.
†p<0.001, SLE patients v healthy controls.