Patient characteristics, stratified by glucocorticoids exposure
| Total (N=162) | Exposed to glucocorticoids ever? | p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (N=41) | Yes (N=121) | |||
| Median (IQR) (range) | Median (IQR) (range) | Median (IQR) (range) | ||
| Age at diagnosis (years) | 35 (27, 47) (10, 69) | 38 (30, 52) (14, 69) | 33 (27, 44) (10, 69) | 0.09 |
| Age at recruitment (years) | 43 (34, 54) (23, 78) | 47 (36, 55) (23, 78) | 42 (33, 54) (23, 77) | 0.13 |
| Duration of observation (years) | 3.6 (2.0, 4.7) (0.4, 6.3) | 3.5 (1.7, 4.5) (1.0, 5.7) | 3.9 (2.1, 5.0) (0.04, 6.3) | 0.13 |
| Number of clinic visits | 14 (8, 22) (2, 47) | 10 (5, 13) (2, 23) | 16 (10, 25) (2, 47) | <0.01 |
| Cumulative prednisolone (g) | 4.8 (0, 9.2) (0, 56.6) | 0 | 7.3 (3.6, 11.9) (0.17, 56.6) | <0.01 |
| Time-adjusted mean prednisolone (mg/day) | 4.4 (0, 7.8) (0, 40) | 0 | 5.7 (3.6, 9.4) (0.04, 40) | <0.01 |
| Number of ACR criteria | 5 (4, 6) (4, 9) | 5 (4, 5) (4, 8) | 5 (4, 6) (4, 9) | 0.16 |
| Baseline SLEDAI | 4 (2, 8) (0, 22) | 2 (0, 4) (0, 16) | 4 (2, 8) (0, 22) | <0.01 |
| Time-adjusted mean SLEDAI (AMS) | 3.5 (1.8, 5.3) (0, 13.9) | 1.6 (0.8, 3.1) (0, 6.0) | 4.3 (2.4, 5.8) (0, 13.9) | <0.01 |
| Time-adjusted mean PGA | 0.43 (0.27, 0.68) (0, 1.87) | 0.25 (0.11, 0.42) (0, 0.84) | 0.50 (0.34, 0.73) (0, 1.87) | <0.01 |
| Baseline SDI | 1 (0, 1) (0, 4) | 0 (0, 1) (0, 3) | 1 (0, 1) (0, 4) | 0.4 |
| Final SDI | 1 (0, 2) (0, 12) | 0 (0, 1) (0, 4) | 1 (0, 2) (0, 12) | 0.03 |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Female | 138 (85%) | 35 (85%) | 103 (85%) | 0.9 |
| Ethnicity | 0.05 | |||
| Caucasian | 89 (55%) | 29 (71%) | 60 (50%) | |
| Asian | 65 (40%) | 10 (24%) | 55 (45%) | |
| Other | 8 (5%) | 2 (5%) | 6 (5%) | |
| Current smoker* | 26 (21%) | 6 (21%) | 20 (21%) | 0.9 |
| Hydroxychloroquine ever | 153 (94%) | 38 (93%) | 115 (95%) | 0.6 |
| Other immunosuppressants ever | 121 (75%) | 13 (32%) | 108 (89%) | <0.01 |
| No. of patients with AMS >4 | 70 (43%) | 4 (10%) | 66 (55%) | <0.01 |
| No. of patients with ΔSDI >0 | 57 (35%) | 6 (15%) | 51 (42%) | <0.01 |
| No. of patients with ΔGC-SDI >0 | 14 (9%) | 2 (5%) | 12 (10%) | 0.3 |
*Data missing for 27 patients.
p Values were calculated using χ2 tests for the difference in proportions and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for the difference in medians between groups.
Δ, change; ACR, American College of Rheumatology; GC-SDI, glucocorticoid-related SDI; PGA, physician global assessment; SLEDAI, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index.