Table 1.
Clinical characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and controls
| SLE patients (n = 434) median (IQR)* | Controls (n = 322) median (IQR)* | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 47·2 (34·2–57·8) | 48·2 (35 ·4–58·6) | n.s. |
| Female sex % | 86 | 92 | 0·01 |
| SLE characteristics | |||
| Number of SLE criteria | 6 (5–7) 17 missing | n.a. | |
| Disease duration year | 10·6 (2·8–20·9) | n.a. | |
| SLICC damage index (SDI) | 1 (IQR: 0–2, range 0–10) | n.a. | |
| Traditional risk factors and laboratory tests | |||
| Current smoking (%) | 18·8 | 14·6 | n.s. |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 120 (110–140) | 120 (110–135) | n.s. |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 78 (70–80) | 75 (70–82) | n.s. |
| Hypertension treatment (%) | 37·2 | 13·7 | <0·0001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24·0 (21·4–27·2) | 24·3 (22·0–27·6) | n.s. |
| Diabetes (%) | 1·4 | 0·9 | n.s. |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 4·9 (4·2–5·7) | 5·1 (4·4–5·9) | 0·009 |
| High-density lipoprotein (mmol/l) | 1·1 (1·1–1·6) | 1·5 (1·2–1·8) | 0·006 |
| Low-density lipoprotein (mmol/l) | 3·0 (2·5–3·6) | 3·2 (2·6–3·9) | 0·0002 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1·0 (0·7–1·5) | 0·78 (0·55–1·10) | <0·0001 |
| Apolipoprotein A1 (mg/ml) | 1·5 (1·3–1·7) | 1·7 (1·4–1·9) | <0·0001 |
| Apolipoprotein B (mg/ml) | 0·81 (0·69–0·96) | 0·81 (0·66–0·97) | n.s. |
| Glucose | 4·8 (4·5–5·2) | 4·9 (4·6–5·2) | n.s. |
| High-sensitivity CRP | 1·7 (0·7–5·3) | 0·9 (0·4–0·9) | <0·0001 |
| Creatinine | 69 (58–84) | 66 (59–73) | 0·0005 |
| Cardiovascular disease | |||
| Cardiovascular event† (%) | 16·1 | 1·2 | <0·0001 |
| Ischaemic heart disease (%) | 6·5 | 0·3 | <0·0001 |
| Ischaemic cerebrovascular disease (%) | 8·7 | 1·6 | <0·0001 |
| Ischaemic peripheral vascular disease (%) | 2·8 | 0·6 | <0·0001 |
| IMT mm (mean of both sides) | 0·053 (0·048–0·063) | n.a. | |
| Treatment (ongoing) | |||
| Prednisolone % | 61·4 | ||
| Anti-malarials % | 37·1 | ||
| Azathioprine % | 17·4 | ||
| Mycophenolate mofetil % | 11·4 |
*
Distributions are given as median [interquartile range (IQR)] unless indicated otherwise.
†
Includes myocardial infarction, ischaemic cerebrovascular and peripheral artery disease.
IMT = intima-media thickness; CRP = C-reactive protein; SLIC = Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics; n.a. = not applicable; n.s. = not significant.