Table 1. Characteristics of study subjects in the screening and validation stage.
| Characteristics | Screening stage | Validation stage |
|---|---|---|
| Control subjects | 12 | 80 |
| Age (year) | 25±2 | 29 (26, 36) |
| Sex (female/male) | 12/0 | 75/5 |
| Patients with SLE | 24 | 163 |
| Age (year) | 28±6 | 34 (25, 47) |
| Sex (female/male) | 23/1 | 150/13 |
| Disease duration (year) | 0 | 4 (1, 8) |
| SLEDAI-2K | 14±8 | 13 (8, 20) |
| Disease manifestations | ||
| Renal disease | 12 (50) | 65 (40) |
| Vasculitis | 2 (8) | 6 (4) |
| Arthritis | 8 (33) | 61 (37) |
| Myositis | 2 (8) | 14 (9) |
| Rash | 15 (63) | 79 (48) |
| Alopecia | 10 (42) | 68 (42) |
| Oral ulcer | 5 (21) | 29 (18) |
| Pleuritis | 0 | 16 (10) |
| Leukopenia | 6 (25) | 26 (16) |
| Thrombocytopenia | 5 (21) | 46 (28) |
| Fever | 10 (42) | 47 (29) |
| Nervous system disorder | 4 (17) | 43 (26) |
| Low complement | 21 (88) | 110 (67)* |
| Autoantibodies | ||
| Anti-dsDNA | 16 (67) | 71(44)* |
| Anti-Sm | 14 (58) | 54 (34)* |
| Anti-SSA | 20 (83) | 111 (70) |
| Anti-SSB | 7 (29) | 24 (15) |
| Anti-RNP | 18 (75) | 62(39)* |
| Anti-Ribosomal P | 12 (50) | 47 (30) |
| Medical therapy | ||
| Prednisone dose ≥15 mg/day | 0 | 81 (50)*** |
| Prednisone dose <15 mg/day | 0 | 71 (44)*** |
| Antimalarials | 0 | 126 (77)*** |
| Azathioprine, MTX, or CTX | 0 | 33 (20)* |
Normally distributed data were expressed as means ± standard deviation (SD), variables with a skewed distribution were presented as median (interquartile range).
Categorical variables values were described as number (%).
SLEDAI-2K: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000; dsDNA: double-stranded DNA; Sm: Smith; SSA: Sjögren's syndrome-related antigen A; SSB: Sjögren's syndrome-related antigen B; RNP: Ribonucleoprotein; MTX: methotrexate; CTX: cyclophosphamide
*P<0.05; ** P<0.01; ***P<0.001.