Remission and low disease activity state prevent hospitalizations in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether remission and low disease activity state protect systemic lupus erythematosus patients from being hospitalized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients from the Almenara Lupus Cohort were included. Visits were performed every 6 months. Variables were measured at each visit. Hospitalizations were evaluated in the interval between two visits. Remission was defined as: a SLEDAI-2 K of 0, prednisone ≤5 mg/day and immunosuppressants on maintenance dose; low disease activity state as: a SLEDAI-2 K of ≤4, prednisone ≤7.5 mg/day and immunosuppressants on maintenance dose. Univariable and multivariable interval-censored survival regression models were used. In multivariable analysis, possible confounders were gender, age at diagnosis, socioeconomic status, educational level, disease duration, antimalarial use, the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index (SDI) and Charlson comorbidity index. Confounders were determined in the same visit as disease activity state. RESULTS: Of the 308 patients, 92.5% of them (n = 285) were women, had a mean age at diagnosis of 34.8 (13.4) years and a disease duration of 7.7 (6.5) years. At baseline the mean SDI was 1.13 (1.34). A total of 163 of the patients were hospitalized. In the multivariable analysis remission (hazard ratio 0.445 (0.274-0.725), P = 0.001) and low disease activity state (relative risk 0.504 (0.336-0.757), P = 0.001) at baseline were found to decrease the risk of hospitalization in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. A total of 158 hospitalizations presented a discernible cause. Disease activity was the most common cause of hospitalization, with 84 admissions (53.16%), the majority, 38, was due to active kidney disease (45.23%). CONCLUSION: Remission and low disease activity state decreased the risk of hospitalizations in these systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Disease activity, particularly renal, was the most frequent cause of hospitalization.

Predictive factors of flares in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: data from a multiethnic Latin American cohort.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors predictive of flares in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods A case-control study nested within the Grupo Latino Americano De Estudio de Lupus (GLADEL) cohort was conducted. Flare was defined as an increase ≥4 points in the SLEDAI. Cases were defined as patients with at least one flare. Controls were selected by matching cases by length of follow-up. Demographic and clinical manifestations were systematically recorded by a common protocol. Glucocorticoid use was recorded as average daily dose of prednisone and antimalarial use as percentage of time on antimalarial and categorized as never (0%), rarely (>0-25%), occasionally (>25%-50%), commonly (˃50%-75%) and frequently (˃75%). Immunosuppressive drugs were recorded as used or not used. The association between demographic, clinical manifestations, therapy and flares was examined using univariable and multivariable conditional logistic regression models. Results A total of 465 cases and controls were included. Mean age at diagnosis among cases and controls was 27.5 vs 29.9 years, p = 0.003; gender and ethnic distributions were comparable among both groups and so was the baseline SLEDAI. Independent factors protective of flares identified by multivariable analysis were older age at diagnosis (OR = 0.929 per every five years, 95% CI 0.869-0.975; p = 0.004) and antimalarial use (frequently vs never, OR = 0.722, 95% CI 0.522-0.998; p = 0.049) whereas azathioprine use (OR = 1.820, 95% CI 1.309-2.531; p < 0.001) and SLEDAI post-baseline were predictive of them (OR = 1.034, 95% CI 1.005-1.064; p = 0.022). Conclusions In this large, longitudinal Latin American cohort, older age at diagnosis and more frequent antimalarial use were protective whereas azathioprine use and higher disease activity were predictive of flares.

Prolactin levels are associated with a pro-inflammatory body mass distribution among women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives The objective of this study was to determine whether prolactin levels are associated with a pro-inflammatory body mass distribution in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in consecutive female SLE patients seen in our rheumatology department from January 2012 to July 2015. Prolactin was measured in ng/ml. Body mass distribution was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and it was divided into subtotal (whole body excluding the head), subtotal bone mineral content, lean mass index (appendicular lean mass/height2), subtotal trunk and leg fat percentages and trunk-to-leg fat ratio. The association between prolactin levels and body mass distribution components was evaluated by univariable and multivariable linear regression models adjusting for possible confounders. Results One hundred and eighty-five patients were evaluated; their mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 34.8 (13.8) years; nearly all patients were Mestizo. Patients included in this study were comparable to the rest of the cohort in terms of age, disease duration, SLEDAI, SDI and body mass index. Disease duration was 7.3 (6.6) years. The SLEDAI was 5.2 (4.3) and the SDI 0.9 (1.3). Prolactin levels were 18.9 (16.7) ng/ml. In univariable analyses, prolactin was negatively associated with bone mineral density, bone mineral content, leg fat percentage and lean mass index, and positively associated with trunk-to-leg fat ratio. In the multivariable analyses, prolactin was negatively associated with bone mineral content and positively associated with trunk-to-leg fat ratio. Conclusions Higher prolactin levels are associated with a pro-inflammatory body mass distribution in SLE patients.

Circulating CD4+CD28null and extra-thymic CD4+CD8+ double positive T cells are independently associated with disease damage in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether circulating CD4+CD28null and extra-thymic CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) T cells are independently associated with damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2013 and April 2014 in consecutive SLE patients from our Rheumatology Department. CD4+CD28null and CD4+CD8+ DP T-cell frequencies were analyzed by flow-cytometry. The association of damage (SLICC/ACR Damage Index, SDI) and CD4+CD28null and CD4+CD8+ DP T cells was examined by univariable and multivariable Poisson regression models, adjusting for possible confounders. All analyses were performed using SPSS 21.0. RESULTS: Patients' (n = 133) mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 35.5 (16.8) years, 124 (93.2%) were female; all were mestizo (mixed Caucasian and Amerindian ancestry). Disease duration was 7.4 (6.8) years. The SLE Disease Activity Index was 5.5 (4.2), and the SDI 0.9 (1.2). The percentages of CD4+CD28null and CD4+CD8+ DP T cells were 17.1 (14.4) and 0.4 (1.4), respectively. The percentage of CD4+CD28null and CD4+CD8+ DP T cells were positively associated with a higher SDI in both univariable (rate ratio (RR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.03 and 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07-1.27, respectively; p < 0.001 for both) and multivariable analyses RR 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03, p = 0.001 for CD4+CD28null T cells and 1.28, 95% CI: 1.13-1.44, p < 0.001 for CD4+CD8+ DP T cells). Only the renal domain remained associated with CD4+CD28null in multivariable analyses (RR 1.023 (1.002-1.045); p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: In SLE patients, CD4+CD28null and CD4+CD8+ DP T cells are independently associated with disease damage. Longitudinal studies are warranted to determine the predictive value of these associations.

High prolactin levels are independently associated with damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

OBJECTIVE: to determine whether prolactin levels are independently associated with disease damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: these cross-sectional analyses were conducted in SLE patient members of the Almenara Lupus Cohort who were seen between January 2012 and June 2013. Disease damage was ascertained with the System Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) damage index (SDI). Prolactin was measured in ng/ml. The association between prolactin levels and the SDI (total and its domains) was evaluated using Spearman's correlation. Subsequently, adjusted Poisson regression models were performed to evaluate these associations. RESULTS: 160 patients were included. 147 (91.9%) were female; their median age at diagnosis was 33.4 (interquartile range (IQR): 26.0-44.3) years; their disease duration was 5.5 (IQR: 2.6-9.7) years. The median prolactin value was 16.8 (IQR: 11.8-24.5) ng/ml. After adjusting for confounders in the Poisson regression model the estimated rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each 10 ng/ml increment of prolactin were 1.13 (95% CI 1.60-1.20, p<0.001) for the total SDI score, 1.15 (1.03-1.28, p=0.003) for the renal domain and 1.41 (1.11-1.79, p=0.003) for the cardiac/peripheral vascular domains. CONCLUSIONS: there was a positive association between prolactin levels and the SDI (overall and its renal and cardiac/peripheral vascular domains), independently of other well-known risk factors.