Table 1.
Baseline patient demographics and disease characteristics.
| Patient characteristics | At index (N = 81) |
|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 74 (91) |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 42 (12) |
| Duration of SLE, n (%) | |
| <1 year | 2 (2) |
| 1–5 years | 29 (36) |
| 6–10 years | 17 (21) |
| >10 years | 32 (40) |
| Unknown | 1 (1) |
| SLE severity at index, n (%) | |
| Mild | 10 (12) |
| Moderate | 61 (75) |
| Severe | 9 (11) |
| Unknown | 1 (1) |
| SLE activity at index, n (%) | |
| Persistent activity | 59 (73) |
| Exacerbation | 22 (27) |
| High disease activity subgroups, n (%) | |
| Hypocomplementemia | 58 (72) |
| High anti-dsDNA | 49 (60) |
| Steroid dose ≥7.5 mg/day | 60 (74) |
| SELENA-SLEDAI >10 | 38 (47) |
| SLE clinical manifestations at index, n (%) | |
| Arthritis | 52 (64) |
| Mild | 4 (8) |
| Moderate | 45 (86) |
| Severe | 3 (6) |
| Rash | 48 (59) |
| Mild | 14 (29) |
| Moderate | 32 (67) |
| Severe | 2 (4) |
| Alopecia | 27 (33) |
| Othera | 33 (41) |
| Fatigue | 32 (40) |
| Mucosal ulcers | 27 (33) |
| Lupus nephritis | 12 (15) |
| Headache | 12 (15) |
| Fever | 10 (12) |
| Vasculitis | 10 (12) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |
| Hypertension | 10 (12) |
| Dyslipidaemia | 4 (5) |
| Diabetes | 1 (1) |
| Renal disease not related to SLE | 1 (1) |
| Coronary artery disease | 1 (1) |
| Asthma/COPD | 1 (1) |
| Concomitant medications at index, n (%) | |
| Corticosteroids | 74 (91) |
| Antimalarials | 70 (86) |
| Azathioprine | 22 (27) |
aIncludes: pleurisy (n = 7, 9%), thrombocytopenia (n = 6, 7%), pericarditis (n = 5, 6%), myositis (n = 3, 4%), proteinuria (n = 3, 4%), organic brain syndrome (n = 2, 2%), seizure (n = 2, 2%), peripheral neuropathy (n = 2, 2%), psychosis (n = 1, 1%), urinary casts (n = 1, 1%), haematuria (n = 1, 1%).
COPD: coronary obstructive pulmonary disease; SD: standard deviation; SELENA-SLEDAI: Safety of Estrogens in Lupus National Assessment-SLE Disease Activity Index; SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus.