Demographic and clinical features of patients with SLE and those with and without cognitive impairment
| SLE (n=102) | Cognitive impairment (n=47) | Normal cognition (n=54) | P value | |
| Female, n (%) | 92 (90) | 43 (91) | 49 (91) | |
| Age (years), mean±SD | 48.9±13.8 | 50.2±13.3 | 47.5±14.4 | 0.33 |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) | ||||
| Caucasian | 90 (88) | 41 (87) | 49 (91) | 0.47 |
| Other | 11 (10.8) | 6 (12.8) | 5 (11.8) | |
| Years of education, mean±SD | 15.6±3.4 | 14.8±2.9 | 16.3±3.7 | 0.04 |
| Current smokers, n (%) | 10 (9.8) | 7 (15) | 3 (6) | 0.12 |
| Ever smokers, n (%) | 36 (35) | 22 (47) | 14 (26) | 0.03 |
| Number of pack years | 5.1±10.2 | 7.1±11.0 | 3.4±9.1 | 0.02 |
| SLE disease duration (years), mean±SD | 14.8±11 | 16.9±12.4 | 12.6±9.0 | 0.11 |
| Prior NP events (excluding cognitive impairment), n (%) | 57 (56) | 26 (55) | 31 (57) | 0.83 |
| Prior NP events attributed to SLE (excluding cognitive impairment), n (%) | 22 (22) | 12 (26) | 10 (19) | 0.39 |
| SLEDAI-2K score, mean±SD | 2.62±2.94 | 3.19±3.62 | 2.07±2.09 | 0.17 |
| SLEDAI-2K score without NP variables, mean±SD | 2.62±2.94 | 3.19±3.62 | 2.07±2.09 | 0.17 |
| SLICC/ACR Damage Index, mean±SD | 1.03±1.43 | 1.21±1.52 | 0.87±1.36 | 0.26 |
| SLICC/ACR Damage Index without NP variables, mean±SD | 0.85±1.31 | 0.98±1.36 | 0.74±1.29 | 0.31 |
| HADS depression score, mean±SD | 4.7±3.86 | 5.3±4.18 | 4.22±3.55 | 0.26 |
| HADS anxiety score, mean±SD | 6.61±4.27 | 6.98±3.94 | 6.37±4.54 | 0.38 |
| Medications, n (%) | ||||
| Corticosteroids | 9 (8.8) | 5 (10.6) | 4 (7.4) | 0.57 |
| Antimalarials | 77 (75.5) | 31 (66.0) | 46 (85.2) | 0.023 |
| Immunosuppressants | 45 (44.1) | 23 (48.9) | 21 (38.9) | 0.31 |
| ASA/clopidogrel | 12 (11.8) | 6 (13.0) | 6 (11.1) | 0.79 |
| Warfarin | 8 (7.9) | 6 (13.0) | 2 (3.7) | 0.86 |
| Psychoactive drugs | 41 (40.2) | 21 (44.7) | 20 (37.0) | 0.44 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 13 (12.7) | 7 (15) | 6 (11) | 0.57 |
| Diabetes | 5 (4.9) | 3 (6) | 2 (4) | 0.54 |
Bolded P values indicate statistically significant group differences between SLE patients with cognitive impairment and SLE patients with normal cognition.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; ASA, Acetylsalicylic acid; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; NP, neuropsychiatric; SLEDAI-2K, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2000; SLICC, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics.