Table 1.
Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics
| All patients with SLE-MSK (n = 664) | |
|---|---|
| At baseline/index date | |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 43.3 (13.2) |
| Female, n (%) | 622 (93.7) |
| Race, n (%) | |
| Asian | 24 (3.6) |
| Black | 312 (47.0) |
| Caucasian | 297 (44.7) |
| Hispanic | 1 (0.2) |
| Other | 30 (4.5) |
| Time since diagnosis, years, mean (SD) | 11.3 (8.9) |
| ACR criteria for diagnosis, n (%) | |
| Malar rash | 313 (47.1) |
| Discoid rash | 126 (19.0) |
| Photosensitive rash | 342 (51.5) |
| Oral ulcers | 405 (61.0) |
| Non-erosive arthritis | 548 (82.7) |
| Pleuritis or pericarditis | 347 (52.3) |
| Renal disorder | 300 (45.3) |
| Neurological disorder | 64 (9.6) |
| Hematological disorder | 444 (67.0) |
| Immunological disorder | 537 (80.9) |
| Positive antinuclear antibody | 650 (97.9) |
| Average follow-up time per person, years, mean (SD) | 6.1 (3.1) |
| Number of visits annually, years, mean (SD) | 3.1 (1.2) |
| Index year | |
| SELENA-SLEDAI total score, mean (SD) | 2.7 (2.6) |
| SELENA-SLEDAI total score max, mean (SD) | 4.2 (3.8) |
| SELENA SLEDAI organ involvement | |
| MSK | 112 (16.7) |
| Skin | 336 (50.6) |
| Renal | 96 (14.5) |
| Immunologic | 299 (45.0) |
| Constitutional | 4 (0.6) |
| Central nervous system | 8 (1.2) |
| Vascular | 23 (3.5) |
| Hematology | 57 (8.6) |
| Serositis | 41 (6.2) |
| PGA, mean (SD) | 0.7 (0.5) |
| PGA max, mean (SD) | 1.1 (0.7) |
| Autoantibodies | |
| Patients with anti-dsDNA (≥ 1:10)a, n (%) | 225 (34.0) |
| Patients with complement 3 < LLN 0.9 g/dL, n (%) | 176 (26.6) |
| Patients with complement 4 < LLN 0.1 g/dL, n (%) | 151 (22.8) |
| Medication history, n (%) | |
| Antimalarial | 602 (90.7) |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 602 (90.7)b |
| Corticosteroids | 447 (67.3) |
| Prednisone | 308 (46.4) |
| Immunosuppressants | 287 (43.2) |
| Methotrexate | 49 (7.4) |
| Azathioprine | 93 (14.0) |
| Mycophenolate | 145 (21.8) |
| Leflunomide | 12 (1.8) |
| Tacrolimus | 28 (4.2) |
| Cyclophosphamide | 5 (0.8) |
| NSAIDS | 178 (26.8) |
| Biologics | 19 (2.9) |
| Rituximab | 9 (1.4) |
| Etanercept | 1 (0.2) |
| Abatacept | 0 |
| Adalimumab | 0 |
| Belimumab | 9 (1.4) |
Baseline defined as the first observation analyzed for demographics and over the first year of the observation period for clinical characteristics
ACR American College of Rheumatology, LLN lower limit of normal, n number of patients in a cohort, MSK musculoskeletal, NSAIDs nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, PGA Physician Global Assessment, SD standard deviation, SELENA SLEDAI Safety of Estrogens in Lupus National Assessment Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index, SLE systemic lupus erythematosus
aDefined as a titre ≥ 1:10 on the C. luciliae indirect immunofluorescence test
bHydroxychloroquine was the only antimalarial used by patients