Table 1.
Comparison of quantitative variables in patients and controls (if present), and two groups of patients by the serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) level (if applicable)
| Characteristics | Patients vs. controls (if applicable) |
Comparison by serum IL-18 levels (patients) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient group |
Control group |
P | < 280 pg/ml |
≥ 280 pg/ml |
P | |
| (n = 60) | (n = 30) | (n = 30) | (n = 30) | |||
| Age (year) | 28.80 ± 10.30 | 33.80 ± 9.10 | 0.781 | 28.53 ± 1.77 | 29.11 ± 2.06 | 0.832 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.90 ± 4.70 | 24.40 ± 5.10 | 0.719 | 23.80 ± 0.73 | 24.11 ± 1.18 | 0.815 |
| IMT (total) (mm) | 0.39 ± 0.07 | 0.36 ± 0.08 | 0.057 | 0.37 ± 0.06 | 0.39 ± 0.09 | 0.198 |
| hs-CRP (mg/l) | 0.93 (0.30-3.60) | 0.60 (0.31-2.50) | 0.164 | 2.66 ± 0.56 | 2.24 ± 0.57 | 0.603 |
| Cholesterol (mg/dl) | 182.00 ± 43.00 | 154.00 ± 50.00 | 0.002 | 174.50 ± 6.83 | 189.82 ± 8.87 | 0.171 |
| TG (mg/dl) | 135.00 ± 46.00 | 74.00 ± 38.00 | ˂ 0.001 | 129.25 ± 8.02 | 141.96 ± 8.62 | 0.284 |
| LDL (mg/dl) | 121.00 ± 32.00 | 95.00 ± 43.00 | ˂ 0.001 | 117.13 ± 5.40 | 125.14 ± 6.50 | 0.346 |
| HDL (mg/dl) | 45.00 ± 9.00 | 43.00 ± 5.00 | 0.867 | 45.40 ± 7.80 | 42.10 ± 8.20 | 0.072 |
| IL-18 (pg/ml) | 336.93 ± 39.69 | 96.89 ± 16.15 | ˂ 0.001 | 99.60 ± 70.60 | 590.80 ± 264.00 | < 0.001 |
| SLEDAI* | 4.50 (2.00-12.00) | - | - | 5.72 ± 1.14 | 9.93 ± 1.44 | 0.024 |
| Anti-dsDNA* (IU/ml) | 107.00 (64.50-296.50) | - | - | 234.03 ± 46.98 | 206.75 ± 39.17 | 0.663 |
| C3 (mg/dl)* | 48.00 (24.50-88.00) | - | - | 71.09 ± 8.96 | 58.10 ± 8.58 | 0.303 |
| C4 (mg/dl)* | 22.00 (12.00-35.75) | - | - | 31.09 ± 5.92 | 26.48 ± 3.24 | 0.514 |
| FBS (mg/dl) | 84.40 ± 18.10 | 74.20 ± 18.30 | 0.014 | 80.41 ± 2.01 | 89.11 ± 4.36 | 0.064 |
| Lymphocyte count* | 5715.00 ± 2543.00 | - | - | 5683.00 ± 319.00 | 5753.00 ± 609.00 | 0.916 |
| Platelet count* | 231266.60 ± 85875.30 | - | - | 241031.00 ± 14770.00 | 220107.00 ± 16752.00 | 0.351 |
For non-normally-distributed variables, the Mann-Whitney test was applied and they were described by median and interquartile range (IQR) (Q1-Q3). For normally-distributed variables, the independent samples t-test was used for comparison and they were described by mean ± standard deviation (SD).
These factors only were checked in patient group
BMI: Body mass index; IMT: Intima-media thickness; TG: Triglyceride; hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; FBS: Fasting blood sugar; IL-18: Interleukin-18; SLEDAI: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index; dsDNA: Double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid