Characteristics of patients with SLE
| Total (n=76) | CAC=0 (n=44) | CAC>0 (n=32) | P value | |
| Age, years | 40±13 | 37±12 | 45±15 | 0.01 |
| Female, n (%) | 68 (90%) | 41 (93%) | 27 (84%) | 0.22 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White, n (%) | 12 (16%) | 7 (16%) | 5 (16%) | 0.97 |
| Hispanic, n (%) | 25 (33%) | 15 (34%) | 10 (31%) | 0.80 |
| Black, n (%) | 30 (40%) | 15 (34%) | 15 (47%) | 0.26 |
| Disease duration, years | 7 (2–13) | 7 (1–13) | 8 (3–12) | 0.69 |
| Katz SLE Severity Disease Index | 5 (3–8) | 6 (4–8) | 5 (3–8) | 0.50 |
| SLICC Damage Index | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 2 (1–3) | 0.17 |
| Lupus nephritis, n (%) | 35 (46%) | 22 (50%) | 13 (41%) | 0.37 |
| APS, n (%) | 8 (11%) | 5 (11%) | 3 (9%) | 0.76 |
| Antibodies | ||||
| ANA, n (%) | 76 (100%) | – | ||
| ds-DNA antibody, n (%) | 49 (64%) | 31 (70%) | 18 (56%) | 0.20 |
| SSA antibody, n (%) | 32 (42%) | 19 (43%) | 13 (41%) | 0.76 |
| SSB antibody, n (%) | 11 (15%) | 7 (16%) | 4 (13%) | 0.65 |
| Sm antibody, n (%) | 33 (43%) | 21 (48%) | 12 (38%) | 0.33 |
| RNP antibody, n (%) | 41 (54%) | 25 (57%) | 16 (50%) | 0.48 |
| Antiphospholipid antibodies, n (%) | 28 (37%) | 18 (41%) | 10 (31%) | 0.43 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 33 (43%) | 15 (34%) | 18 (56%) | 0.05 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 8 (10.5%) | 5 (11%) | 3 (9%) | 0.98 |
| Ever smoker n (%) | 11 (15%) | 5 (11%) | 6 (19%) | 0.37 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27.5±8 | 26.7±8 | 28.5±8 | 0.36 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 186±74 | 189±89 | 182±84 | 0.37 |
| HDL, mg/dL | 51±19 | 53±18 | 47±20 | 0.24 |
| LDL, mg/dL | 104±47 | 103±54 | 106±32 | 0.81 |
| Aspirin use, n (%) | 22 (29%) | 10 (23%) | 12 (38%) | 0.16 |
| Statin use, n (%) | 10 (13%) | 4 (9%) | 6 (19%) | 0.22 |
| Immunomodulatory medication use | ||||
| Antimalarials, n (%) | 73 (96%) | 42 (96%) | 31 (97%) | 0.75 |
| Non-biologic DMARDs, n (%) | 62 (82%) | 36 (82%) | 26 (81%) | 0.95 |
| Cyclophosphamide, n (%) | 23 (30%) | 13 (30%) | 10 (31%) | 0.87 |
| Biologics, n (%) | 24 (32%) | 15 (34%) | 9 (28%) | 0.58 |
| Glucocorticoids, n (%) | 68 (90%) | 38 (86%) | 30 (94%) | 0.30 |
Characteristics are expressed as n (%), mean±SD or median (IQR). Values in bold are considered significant (∝<0.05).
APS, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome; BMI, body mass index; CAC, coronary artery calcium; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, including azathioprine, methotrexate and mycophenolate mofetil; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; RNP, ribonucleoprotein; SLICC, systemic lupus International collaborative clinics; SSA, Sjogren’s syndrome-related antigen; SSB, Sjogren’s syndrome-related antigen B; Sm, Smith.