SLE medications in the SPOCS population at baseline, by SLEDAI-2K and IFNGS category
| Overall (N=823) | SLEDAI-2K | IFNGS | |||||
| <10 (n=343) | ≥10 (n=241) | Nominal p value | High (n=522) | Low (n=217) | Nominal p value | ||
| Number of medication classes (±AM) | n=823 | n=343 | n=241 | 0.777 | n=522 | n=217 | <0.001 |
| Mean±SD | 1.3±0.8 | 1.3±0.8 | 1.3±0.8 | 1.4±0.8 | 1.1±0.8 | ||
| Median (IQR) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | ||
| Level of therapy, n (%) | 0.920 | <0.001 | |||||
| None (±AM) | 139 (16.9) | 61 (17.8) | 38 (15.8) | 71 (13.6) | 55 (25.3) | ||
| Monotherapy (±AM) | 323 (39.3) | 131 (38.2) | 97 (40.3) | 196 (37.5) | 93 (42.9) | ||
| Dual (±AM) | 313 (38.0) | 131 (38.2) | 92 (38.2) | 218 (41.8) | 61 (28.1) | ||
| Triple (±AM) | 48 (5.8) | 20 (5.8) | 14 (5.8) | 37 (7.1) | 8 (3.7) | ||
| AMs, n (%) | 662 (80.4) | 277 (80.8) | 193 (80.1) | 0.839 | 407 (78.0) | 189 (87.1) | 0.004 |
| Immunosuppressants*, n (%) | 443 (53.8) | 187 (54.5) | 137 (56.9) | 0.577 | 303 (58.0) | 95 (43.8) | <0.001 |
| Biologics†, n (%) | 166 (20.2) | 64 (18.7) | 40 (16.6) | 0.522 | 99 (19.0) | 45 (20.7) | 0.580 |
| Glucocorticoids‡ | 506 (61.5%) | 211 (61.5%) | 155 (64.3%) | 0.491 | 354 (67.8%) | 107 (49.3%) | <0.001 |
| Cumulative glucocorticoids§, g | n=491 | n=204 | n=148 | 0.613 | n=344 | n=104 | 0.665 |
| Mean±SD | 2.5±3.1 | 2.7±3.2 | 2.5±3.0 | 2.5±3.1 | 2.3±2.9 | ||
| Total glucocorticoids¶, mg/day | 0.613 | 0.665 | |||||
| Mean±SD | 6.8±8.5 | 7.3±8.9 | 6.8±8.2 | 6.8±8.5 | 6.4±7.8 | ||
| Cumulative glucocorticoids§, g (including 0 mg) | n=808 | n=336 | n=234 | 0.863 | n=512 | n=214 | 0.014 |
| Mean±SD | 1.5±2.7 | 1.6±2.8 | 1.6±2.7 | 1.7±2.8 | 1.1±2.3 | ||
| Total glucocorticoids¶, mg/day (including 0 mg) | 0.863 | 0.014 | |||||
| Mean±SD | 4.1±7.4 | 4.4±7.8 | 4.3±7.3 | 4.6±7.7 | 3.1±6.3 | ||
| Total glucocorticoids daily dose¶, n (%) | 0.829 | <0.001 | |||||
| No glucocorticoids | 317 (39.2) | 132 (39.3) | 86 (36.8) | 168 (32.8) | 110 (51.4) | ||
| Dose ≤7.5 mg | 353 (43.7) | 142 (42.3) | 103 (44.0) | 248 (48.4) | 73 (34.1) | ||
| Dose >7.5 mg | 138 (17.1) | 62 (18.5) | 45 (19.2) | 96 (18.8) | 31 (14.5) | ||
All p values are nominal; there have been no adjustments for multiplicity. Subgroups do not total overall population n due to missing data.
*Cytotoxic or immunosuppressive agents included cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil/mycophenolic acid, azathioprine, tacrolimus, mizoribine, leflunomide or ciclosporin.
†Belimumab or rituximab.
‡Number of patients with at least one ongoing glucocorticoid prescription or at least one prescription recorded in the previous year.
§The sum of all glucocorticoids received in the past 365 days, standardised to g/year.
¶Cumulative glucocorticoids divided by 365 to convert to daily dose and group patients into daily dose groups.
AM, antimalarial; IFNGS, type I interferon gene signature; SLEDAI-2K, SLE Disease Activity Index-2000; SPOCS, SLE Prospective Observational Cohort Study.