Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients.
| Parameters | Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) (n = 16) |
Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) (n = 17) |
Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) (n = 16) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years | 41 (20–54) # | 52 (20–77) | 43 (25–70) |
| Sex, female (F)/male (M), n | 15 F/1 M | 12 F/7 M | 8 F/8 M |
| BMI | 24.3 (16.4–39.1) | 25.8 (16.5–38.7) | 26.9 (21.4–35.8) |
| Disease duration, years | 8 (0–47) | 3 (1–23) a/5 (1–40) b | 6 (1.5–17) |
| Clinical data | |||
| Disease activity *, score | 7 (0–32) | 1 (0–8) | 6.3 (1.0–8.2) |
| Laboratory values | |||
| CRP, mg/L | 5 (1–23) | 5 (3–18) | 8 (5–59) ## |
| ESR, mm/h | 16.5 (3–73) | 16 (4–59) | 15 (1–59) |
| Proteinuria, mg/24 h | 185 (0–7550) | 0 (0–0.2) | n/a |
| C3, mg/dL | 73.5 (23.2–133) | 98.1 (65.8–141) | n/a |
| C4, mg/dL | 15.45 (5.38–20.6) | 17.35 (13–27.1) | n/a |
| ANA, titre (1:x) | 960 (160–10,240) | 2560 (320–20,480) | n/a |
| anti-dsDNA antibody, % | 75 | n/a | n/a |
| anti-dsDNA antibody, IU/mL | 68.85 (0–666.9) | n/a | n/a |
| Scl-70 antibody, % | n/a | 88.9 | n/a |
| Autoantibody specificities, no. | 3 (1–7) | 3 (2–4) | n/a |
| Medications, % | |||
| NSAIDs | 81.25 | ||
| Immunosuppressive drugs | 92.8 | 55 | 0 |
| Non-biologic DMARDs | 28.6 | 27.3 | 37.5 |
| Glucocorticosteroids | 75 | 23.5 | 21.25 |
Except where indicated otherwise, values are the median (range). BMI, body mass index; * SLEDAI, SLE Disease Activity Index, * EUSTAR, the European League Against Rheumatism Scleroderma Trials and Research revised index, or * BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; C, complement components; ANA, antinuclear antibody; Scl-70, anti-topoisomerase I antibody; NSAIDs, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs; DMARDs, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs; n/a, not applicable. # p = 0.03 for SLE vs. SSc patient comparison; ## p = 0.03 for AS vs. SLE and SSc comparisons.