Comparison of characteristics between patients with and without GCs
| Characteristics | Without GCs (n=50) | Number of missing data | With GCs (n=918) | Number of missing data | P value |
| Age, median IQR, years | 50.5 (40.8–60.5) | 0 | 44.5 (34–56) | 0 | 0.012 |
| Female patients, n (%) | 42 (84) | 0 | 807 (88) | 0 | 0.41 |
| Disease duration, median IQR, years* | 13 (6–22.5) | 1 | 12 (6–20) | 20 | 0.41 |
| <5 years, n (%) | 11 (22) | 222 (25) | |||
| 5–20 years, n (%) | 23 (47) | 445 (50) | |||
| ≥20 years, n (%) | 15 (31) | 231 (26) | |||
| SLEDAI-2K, median IQR* | 2 (0–6) | 9 | 4 | 223 | 0.027 |
| SLICC-DI, median IQR* | 0 (0–2) | 0 | 1 (0–2) | 0 | 0.61 |
| Maximum PSL dose after diagnosis, median IQR, mg/day | 50 (30–60) | 0 | 40 (30–50) | 70 | 0.48 |
| Current immunosuppressant use, n (%) | 21 (42) | 0 | 596 (65) | 0 | 0.0010 |
| Current hydroxychloroquine use, n (%) | 2 (4) | 0 | 262 (29) | 0 | <0.0001 |
| C3, median IQR, mg/dL | 88 (75.5–103.0) | 4 | 80 (68–93) | 80 | 0.033 |
| C4, median IQR, mg/dL | 17.65 (14.4–22.3) | 4 | 16 (11–21.9) | 144 | 0.12 |
| CH50, median IQR, U/mL | 37.6 (32.8–46.6) | 4 | 37 (29.8–44.6) | 126 | 0.20 |
| Anti-ds-DNA antibody, median IQR, EU/mL | 7.6 (1.7–10.1) | 3 | 9.15 (2.4–20.8) | 24 | 0.23 |
| Serum creatinine, median IQR, mg/dL | 0.66 (0.60–0.74) | 1 | 0.69 (0.59–0.84) | 2 | 0.31 |
*Mann-Whitney U test.
ds-DNA, double stranded DNA; GC, glucocorticoid; PSL, prednisolone; SLEDAI-2K, SLE Disease Activity Index 2000; SLICC-DI, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index.