Demographics and clinical characteristics at baseline of 124 patients with SLE with or without vascular ultrasound-confirmed atherosclerosis and with or without progression of atherosclerosis
| All patients (N=124) | With plaques at baseline* (n=30) | No plaques at baseline (n=94) | P value† | With new plaques (n=26) | Without new plaques (n=98) | P value‡ | |
| Age (years), mean±SD | 44.4±11.7 | 54.4±11.1 | 41.4±10.1 | <0.001 | 52.8±8.7 | 42.3±11.5 | 0.001 |
| Disease duration (years), mean±SD | 8.8±7.5 | 9.6±7.5 | 8.6±7.5 | 0.556 | 11.0±7.3 | 8.2±7.5 | 0.090 |
| SLEDAI-2K (points), mean±SD | 2.4±3.0 | 2.5±2.8 | 2.4±3.2 | 0.923 | 2.5±2.6 | 2.4±3.2 | 0.937 |
| SLICC/ACR DI (points), mean±SD | 0.8±1.0 | 0.8±1.1 | 0.7±1.0 | 0.690 | 1.0±1.5 | 0.7±0.9 | 0.090 |
| Antiphospholipid antibody positivity, n (%) | 56 (47) | 17 (57) | 39 (41) | 0.105 | 18 (69) | 38 (39) | 0.006 |
| Lupus nephritis | 26 (21) | 7 (23) | 19 (20) | 0.715 | 5 (19) | 21(21) | 0.807 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 10 (8) | 6 (20) | 4 (4) | 0.006 | 3 (12) | 7 (7) | 0.464 |
| Family history of CAD, n (%) | 14 (11) | 3 (10) | 11 (12) | 0.798 | 1 (4) | 13 (13) | 0.177 |
| Obesity, n (%) | 27 (21) | 8 (27) | 19 (20) | 0.456 | 10 (39) | 17 (17) | 0.020 |
| Smoking | |||||||
| Current, n (%) | 46 (37) | 12 (40) | 34 (36) | 0.658 | 11 (42) | 35 (36) | 0.536 |
| Ever, n (%) | 76 (61) | 22 (73) | 54 (57) | 0.165 | 19 (73) | 57 (58) | 0.165 |
| Pack-years | 18.7±16.2 | 24.7±14.9 | 16.2±16.3 | 0.040 | 23.0±19.8 | 17.3±14.9 | 0.193 |
| Hyperlipidaemia, n (%) | 52 (42) | 21 (70) | 31 (33) | 0.001 | 12 (46) | 40 (41) | 0.624 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL), mean±SD | 195±42 | 206±42 | 191±42 | 0.109 | 200±41 | 194±43 | 0.538 |
| LDL (mg/dL), mean±SD | 115±34 | 125±33 | 111±34 | 0.065 | 117±35 | 114±34 | 0.681 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 44 (35) | 15 (50) | 29 (31) | 0.056 | 11 (42) | 33 (34) | 0.413 |
| Systolic BP (mm Hg), mean±SD | 121±18 | 127±21 | 119±17 | 0.038 | 134±23 | 118±15 | <0.001 |
| Diastolic BP (mm Hg), mean±SD | 73±9. | 72±8 | 73±10 | 0.651 | 78±10 | 72±9 | 0.001 |
| Glucocorticoids | |||||||
| End of follow-up, n (%) | 75 (60) | 19 (63) | 56 (60) | 0.700 | 19 (73) | 56 (57) | 0.140 |
| Cumulative dose, total (g)§ | 14.7±17.2 | 12.5±13.9 | 15.3±18.0 | 0.433 | 20.7±18.3 | 13±16.5 | 0.042 |
| Cumulative dose (during follow-up period) (g) | 3.5±5.3 | 3.0±3.1 | 3.8±5.8 | 0.523 | 4.4±4.5 | 3.4±5.5 | 0.405 |
| Immunosuppressives, end of follow-up, n (%) | 50 (40) | 9 (30) | 41 (44) | 0.186 | 11 (42) | 39 (40) | 0.816 |
| Hydroxychloroquine, n (%) | |||||||
| Baseline | 85 (69) | 23 (77) | 62 (66) | 0.271 | 15 (58) | 70 (72) | 0.180 |
| End of follow-up | 98 (79) | 25 (83) | 73 (77) | 0.500 | 19 (73) | 79 (80) | 0.401 |
| Follow-up 75 | 98 (79) | 26 (87) | 72 (77) | 0.238 | 19 (73) | 79 (81) | 0.401 |
| Follow-up 100 | 92 (74) | 25 (83) | 67 (71) | 0.189 | 19 (73) | 73 (75) | 0.884 |
| Antiplatelets, n (%) | |||||||
| Baseline | 41 (33) | 13 (43) | 28 (30) | 0.170 | 8 (31) | 33 (34) | 0.780 |
| End of follow-up | 44 (36) | 14 (47) | 30 (32) | 0.141 | 11 (42) | 33 (34) | 0.413 |
| Follow-up 75 | 43 (35) | 14 (47) | 29 (31) | 0.113 | 10 (39) | 33 (34) | 0.648 |
| Follow-up 100 | 40 (31) | 14 (47) | 26 (27) | 0.041 | 9 (35) | 30 (31) | 0.696 |
| Statins, n (%) | |||||||
| Baseline | 13 (10) | 8 (27) | 5 (5) | 0.001 | 3 (12) | 10 (10) | 0.843 |
| End of follow-up | 28 (22) | 13 (43) | 15 (16) | 0.002 | 9 (35) | 19 (20) | 0.099 |
| Follow-up 75 | 28 (22) | 13 (43) | 15 (16) | 0.002 | 9 (35) | 19 (20) | 0.099 |
| Follow-up 100 | 28 (22) | 13 (43) | 15 (16) | 0.002 | 9 (35) | 19 (20) | 0.099 |
| Antihypertensives, n (%) | 45 (36) | ||||||
| Baseline | 42 (34) | 14 (47) | 28 (30) | 0.089 | 9 (35) | 33 (34) | 0.928 |
| End of follow-up | 45 (36) | 15 (50) | 30 (31) | 0.073 | 11 (42) | 34 (35) | 0.473 |
| Follow-up 75 | 40 (32) | 15 (50) | 25 (27) | 0.017 | 10 (39) | 30 (31) | 0.447 |
| Follow-up 100 | 38 (31) | 13 (43) | 25 (27) | 0.083 | 9 (35) | 29 (30) | 0.621 |
*Carotid plaques in 25 patients, femoral plaques in 19 patients and plaques at both arterial sites in 14 patients.
†Comparison between patients with or without atherosclerotic plaques at baseline.
‡Comparison between patients with or without new atherosclerotic plaques at follow-up.
§Glucocorticoid cumulative dose total: dose between glucocorticoids first (ever) administration and the end of follow-up.
BP, blood pressure; CAD, coronary artery disease; SLICC/ACR DI, Systemic Lupus International Collaborative Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index; follow-up 75, duration of continuous treatment ≥75% of follow-up period; follow-up 100, continuous treatment during the entire follow-up period; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; SLEDAI-2K, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000.