Group number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | P value |
SLE-CSQ score | 0 | 1 | 2–3 | ≥4 | |
Characteristics | |||||
Age (years) | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | <0.0001 |
Gender (female) | 41.9 | 69.3 | 86.0 | 93.0 | <0.0001 |
BMI (kg/m2) | 25.7 | 25.1 | 24.8 | 24.8 | <0.0001 |
Smoking | |||||
Current (yes) | 18.4 | 19.0 | 18.8 | 20.5 | 0.04 |
Never (yes) | 49.6 | 48.9 | 48.5 | 47.3 | 0.03 |
Women only | |||||
Nulliparity (yes) | 17.7 | 19.4 | 17.9 | 18.7 | 0.001 |
Menopausal (yes) | 8.7 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.4 | <0.0001 |
OCP | |||||
Current (yes) | 37.6 | 39.0 | 36.9 | 35.3 | <0.0001 |
Ever (yes) | 89.5 | 91.1 | 93.7 | 93.4 | <0.0001 |
Blood levels | |||||
Haemoglobin (g/L) | 14.5 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 13.9 | <0.0001 |
Leucocytes (×109/L) | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 0.004 |
Lymphocytes (×109/L) | 1.91 | 1.93 | 1.93 | 1.94 | 0.08 |
Neutrophils (×109/L) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | <0.0001 |
Monocytes (×109/L) | 0.46 | 0.45 | 0.44 | 0.44 | <0.0001 |
Thrombocytes (×109/L) | 239 | 249 | 255 | 258 | <0.0001 |
Creatinine (µmol/L) | 76 | 71 | 68 | 67 | <0.0001 |
CTD screen-positive (%)** | 235 (2.2) | 199 (3.2) | 127 (3.1) | 19 (3.5) | 0.001 |
Anti-dsDNA (%††) | 89 (38) | 77 (39) | 42 (33) | 8 (42) | 0.09 |
Anti-SSA (%††) | 58 (25) | 53 (27) | 35 (28) | 6 (32) | 0.007 |
The outcomes in bold appoint the values that are significantly different from group 4 (p<0.05).
Data are presented as medians for continuous variables and as percentages for categorical variables.
Kruskal-Wallis analysis was performed for comparison of the four groups. Mann-Whitney was used to compare two groups.
P values ≤0.05 are considered significant.
*CTD screen was tested in 25% of the whole group.
†This percentage refers to the group of CTD screen-positive participants.
BMI, body mass index; CTD, connective tissue disease; OPC, oral conceptive pills; SLE-CSQ, Connective Tissue Disease Screening Questionnaire focusing on SLE.