Body mass index and glucocorticoid dose contribute to subclinical atherosclerosis in Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A prospective 4 year follow-up study.

Aim: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease owing to an immunological abnormality, along with traditional risk factors. We found that carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) and plaque were associated with age, body mass index (BMI) and disease activity in a previous study 4 years ago. Our aim was to identify risk factors associated with progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in SLE.

Methods: We assessed cIMT and plaque using Doppler ultrasonography in 61 Korean women with SLE who were enrolled in the previous study 4 years ago.

Results: The mean cIMT of the patients was 0.39 ± 0.09 mm; 11 patients had carotid plaques, which was similar to the results of the previous study. Twenty-one patients had increased cIMT, and new carotid plaque had developed in seven patients. Patients with increased cIMT had a lower BMI and took fewer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and higher 4 year cumulative glucocorticoid dose than patients without increased cIMT. The 4 year cumulative glucocorticoid dose was higher in patients with carotid plaque than in those without. On multivariate regression analysis, BMI (odds ratio [OR] = 0.67, P = 0.034) was associated with increased cIMT, and the 4 year cumulative glucocorticoid dose was associated with increased cIMT (OR = 6.994, P = 0.025) and carotid plaque (OR = 5.651, P = 0.031).

Conclusion: This prospective follow-up study on cIMT and plaque in patients with SLE showed that low BMI and 4 year cumulative glucocorticoid dose were associated with the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis.