Table 1.
Demographics, disease characteristics, and treatment details for the 134 patients included in the study
| SLE | RA | |
|---|---|---|
| Patients included, n | 61 | 73 |
| Female sex, n (%) | 41 (77.1) | 49 (67.1) |
| Age, median (IQR), years | 60.2 (46.3‐67.1) | 70.3 (66.9‐73.5) |
| BMI, median (IQR), kg/m2 | 24.7 (22.5‐27.5) | 26.4 (23.3‐28.9) |
| Disease duration, median (IQR), years | 15 (7‐30) | 19 (10‐24) |
| Charlson score, median (IQR) | 3 (2‐4) | 4 (3‐5) |
| Smoking status, % | ||
| Active | 8.3 | 9.9 |
| Previous | 43.3 | 60.5 |
| Never | 48.3 | 29.6 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 19 (31.2) | 33 (45.2) |
| ACE‐inhibitor or AT2‐antagonist treatment, n (%) | 28 (45.9) | 33 (45.2) |
| SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody positive prevaccination, n (%) | 1/50 (2) | 0/65 (0.0) |
| White, n (%) | 60 (98.3) | 73 (100) |
| RA | ||
| ACPA positivity, n (%) | ‐ | 63/72 (87.5) |
| IgM‐RF positivity, n (%) | ‐ | 58 (79.5) |
| Erosive disease on X‐ray, n (%) | ‐ | 63 (86.3) |
| DMARD, n (%) | ‐ | |
| Methotrexate | ‐ | 40 (54.8) |
| Salazopurine | ‐ | 2 (2.7) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | ‐ | 1 (1.4) |
| Prednisone | ‐ | 8 (11) |
| Leflunomide | ‐ | 5 (6.9) |
| Azathioprine | ‐ | 2 (2.7) |
| Biologics and small molecules | ||
| Number of biologics tried, median (IQR) | ‐ | 2 (1‐3) |
| TNF‐inhibitors, n (%) | ‐ | 36 (49.3) |
| Rituximab, n (%) | ‐ | 15 (20.6) |
| JAK inhibitor, n (%) | ‐ | 8 (11) |
| Anti–IL‐6, n (%) | ‐ | 8 (11) |
| Abatacept, n (%) | ‐ | 6 (8.2) |
| SLE | ||
| ACR classification criteria, n (%) | ||
| Malar rash | 31 (50.8) | ‐ |
| Discoid rash | 4 (6.6) | ‐ |
| Photosensitivity | 25 (41) | ‐ |
| Oral ulcers | 15 (24.6) | ‐ |
| Nonerosive arthritis | 53 (86.9) | ‐ |
| Pleuritis or pericarditis | 17 (27.9) | ‐ |
| Renal disorder | 19 (31.2) | ‐ |
| Neurologic disorder | 5 (8.2) | ‐ |
| Hematologic disorder | 52 (85.3) | ‐ |
| Immunologic disorder | 55 (90.2) | ‐ |
| Positive antinuclear antibody | 61 (100) | ‐ |
| SLICC/ACR Damage Index, median (IQR) | 1 (1‐2) | ‐ |
| Treatment | ||
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | 37 (60.7) | ‐ |
| Prednisone, n (%) | 29 (47.5) | ‐ |
| Prednisone dose mg, median (IQR) | 5 (5‐7.5) | ‐ |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 15 (24.6) | ‐ |
| Mycophenolate mofetil, n (%) | 16 (26.2) | ‐ |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 6 (9.8) | ‐ |
| Rituximab, n (%) | 2 (3.3) | ‐ |
| Belimumab, n (%) | 3 (4.9) | ‐ |
| Other (privigen, tacrolimus, and taltz), n (%) | 5 (8.2) | ‐ |
| No treatment, n (%) | 6 (9.8) | ‐ |
Abbreviation: ACE, angiotensins‐converting enzyme; ACPA, anti–citrullinated protein antibody; ACR, American College of Rheumatology; anti–IL‐6, interleukin 6 inhibitor; AT2, angiotensin II receptor; BMI, body mass index; DMARD, disease‐modifying rhematic drug; IgM‐RF, IgM rheumatoid factor; IQR, interquartile range; JAK, Janus kinase; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; SLICC/ACR, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.