Table 1.
Demographics, ACR classification criteria and ongoing drug treatment in the investigated patients
| Characteristics | Sudan, all patients (n = 115) | Sweden, all patients (n = 340) | P-value | Sudan, matched patients (n = 88) | Sweden, matched patients (n = 88) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, female/male, n/n | 110/5 | 297/40 | 0.02 | 85/3 | 79/9 | 0.07 |
| Age at inclusion, years, median/meana | 33/34.9 | 47.7/46.7 | <0.0001 | 35/36.8 | 35.4/37.3 | 0.7 |
| Age at SLE onset, years, median/mean | 28/30.0 | 26/29.1 | 0.3 | 31.5/31.6 | 28.5/31.1 | 0.7 |
| Duration of SLE, years, median/mean | 5/4.8 | 14/17.5 | <0.0001 | 5.0/5.3 | 6.0/6.1 | 0.06 |
| ACR classification criteriab, n/N (%) | ||||||
| Malar rash | 60/115 (52.2) | 175/337 (51.9) | NA | 47/86 (53.4) | 39/88 (44.3) | NA |
| Discoid rash | 7/115 (6.1) | 65/337 (19.3) | NA | 5/88 (5.7) | 13/88 (14.8) | NA |
| Photosensitivity | 61/115 (53.0) | 222/337 (65.9) | NA | 47/86 (53.4) | 49/88 (55.7) | NA |
| Oral ulcers | 73/115 (63.5) | 113/336 (33.6) | NA | 55/88 (62.5) | 28/88 (31.8) | NA |
| Arthritis | 101/115 (87.8) | 280/337 (83.1) | NA | 78/88 (88.6) | 69/88 (78.4) | NA |
| Serositis | 28/115 (24.3) | 136/337 (40.4) | NA | 21/88 (23.9) | 29/88 (32.9) | NA |
| Renal disorder | 26/114 (22.8) | 137/337 (40.6) | NA | 22/88 (25.0) | 35/88 (39.8) | NA |
| Neurologic disorder | 18/115 (15.6) | 37/337 (11.0) | NA | 14/88 (15.9) | 7/88 (7.9) | NA |
| Hematologic disorder | 20/115 (17.4) | 238/337 (70.6) | NA | 17/88 (19.3) | 69/88 (78.4) | NA |
| Immunologic disorderc | 52/64 (81.2) | 123/178 (69.1) | NA | 42/52 (80.8) | 18/32 (56.2) | NA |
| ANA by IIFd | 95/98 (96.9) | 332/336 (98.8) | NA | 74/77 (96.1) | 86/88 (97.7) | NA |
| Treatment at time of inclusion, n/N (%) | ||||||
| AZA | 69/112 (61.6) | 57/332 (17.2) | <0.0001 | 50/86 (58.1) | 19/88 (21.6) | <0.0001 |
| Prednisolone | 80/112 (71.4) | 194/337 (57.6) | 0.009 | 59/86 (68.6) | 57/88 (64.8) | 0.6 |
| Prednisolone dose, mg, median/mean | 5.0/10.0 | 2.5/5.1 | 0.007 | 5.0/9.3 | 5.0/7.3 | 0.7 |
| HCQ | 63/112 (56.3) | 116/335 (34.6) | <0.0001 | 51/86 (59.3) | 34/88 (38.6) | 0.006 |
| MMF | 14/112 (12.5) | 34/332 (10.2) | 0.5 | 13/86 (15.1) | 12/87 (13.8) | 0.8 |
| CYC | 2/112 (1.7) | 4/296 (1.3) | 0.7 | 1/86 (1.2) | 2/79 (2.5) | 0.5 |
| MTX | 10/112 (8.9) | 14/331 (4.2) | 0.06 | 9/86 (10.5) | 4/88 (4.6) | 0.1 |
| Ciclosporin | 1/112 (0.9) | 2/335 (0.6) | 0.7 | 1/86 (1.2) | 0/88 (0.0) | 0.3 |
| ASA | 9/112 (8.0) | 56/336 (16.7) | 0.02 | 9/86 (10.5) | 13/87 (14.9) | 0.4 |
| Warfarin | 4/112 (3.6) | 48/337 (15.0) | 0.002 | 3/86 (3.5) | 12/88 (13.6) | 0.02 |
Sudanese and Swedish patients are compared for the full cohorts as well as for the nested group matched for age and disease duration. Significant differences are shown in bold.
ASA, acetylsalicylic acid; NA, not applicable.
a
For Sudanese patients, age was reported in full years, whereas for Swedish patients, age was calculated using the date of birth and time of presentation to the clinic.
b
ACR fulfilled criteria were not statistically compared between the cohort since they were documented at different time points.
c
Including only anti-dsDNA for each cohort.
d
IIF was done in Sudan and Sweden at the time of diagnosis.