Prevalence of atherosclerotic vascular disease in cuban patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Atherosclerotic vascular disease-associated mortality and morbidity has increased in sick patients with with systemic erythematosus lupus (SLE).

Objective: To determine frequency of atherosclerotic vascular disease (AVD) in our patients, and to identify associations of some risk factors associated to its presence.

Methods: Study included 51 patients and 51 controls paired by age, sex, and skin colour, who underwent carotid ultrasound (US) to measure thickness of intimamedial complex, and to determine presence of plaques. In patients and controls we analyzed the presence of classic risk factors, eg age, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. In addition in SLE we also analyzed the influencie on AVD of the clinical features of disease, as well as treatments applied.

Results: Risk factors were similar between patients and controls, except for hypertriglyeridemia, which was more frequent in patients. Presence of plaque was more prevalent in patients than in controls (59.9 vs 23.5%, P=.001). In multivariate analysis age (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.038-1.253; P=.005), diagnosis of SLE (OR, = 3.872; CI 95%, 1.4-10.2; p = 0.005), and presence of damage by SLICC/ACR (OR, 34.884; 95% CI, 1.1-12.9; P=.006) were the only variables independently associated to the presence of atherosclerosis in our patients.

Conclusions: Frequency of atherosclerosis is increased in patients presenting with SLE, risk factors independent of those classics, seem to be associated with this presence.