Differences in the characteristics of patients with SLE by high CVD risk group
| Parameter | Descriptive statistics by high CVD risk group * | Evidence of difference † p value | |
|
Missed group (n=27) |
Conventional group (n=22) | ||
| Demographics | |||
| Age (years) | 54±14 | 69±9 | p<0.01 |
| Sex: female | 22 (81) | 11 (50) | p=0.03 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Caucasian | 20 (74) | 17 (77) | p=1.00 p=1.00 |
| Asian | 7 (26) | 5 (23) | |
| Conventional CVD risk factors | |||
| Current smoker | 9 (33) | 8 (36) | p=1.00 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 1 (4) | 3 (14) | p=0.31 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 132±21 | 143±17 | p=0.05 |
| Hypertension ‡ | 9 (33) | 12 (55) | p=0.16 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24.1±3.1 | 28.0±7.1 | p=0.02 |
| Total cholesterol (mM) | 5.0±1.0 | 5.0±0.8 | p=0.78 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia § | 8 (30) | 3 (14) | p=0.30 |
| SLE disease parameters | |||
| Number of ACR criteria met | 4.8±1.1 | 5.1±1.2 | p=0.30 |
| Adjusted mean SLEDAI | 5.72±3.3 | 2.95±2.5 | p<0.01 |
| Low mean C3 ¶ | 17 (63) | 5 (23) | p<0.01 |
| Lupus anticoagulant positive | 5 (19) | 1 (5) | p=0.19 |
| On glucocorticoids | 19 (70) | 8 (36) | p=0.02 |
| Cardiovascular disease parameters | |||
| CVD events | 4 (15) | 5 (23) | p=0.71 |
| On CVD prevention therapy | 13 (48) | 7 (32) | p=0.38 |
| Treated to NVDPA guideline targets (those on CVD prevention therapy) | |||
| Antihypertensive | 9 (33) | 1 (5) | p=0.02 |
| Lipid-lowering agent | 1 (4) | 0 (0) | p=1.00 |
↵*Data as mean ± SD for continuous variables and (%) for categorical variables.
↵†Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.
↵‡Blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg.
↵§Total cholesterol (>5.5 mM).
↵¶Low C3 <0.8 mg/L.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; CVD, cardiovascular disease; NVDPA, National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance