Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is overrepresented in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We determined the prevalence of traditional and nontraditional risk factors for CVD in SLE patients with and without CVD compared with controls.

Twenty-six women (aged 52+/-8.2 years) with SLE and a history of CVD (SLE cases) were compared with 26 age-matched women with SLE but without manifest CVD (SLE controls) and 26 age-matched population-based control women (population controls). Common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by B-mode ultrasound as a surrogate measure of atherosclerosis. SLE cases had increased IMT compared with SLE controls (P=0.03) and population controls (P=0.001), whereas IMT of SLE controls did not differ from population controls. SLE cases had raised plasma concentrations of circulating oxidized LDL (OxLDL; P=0.03), as measured by the monoclonal antibody EO6, and autoantibodies to epitopes of OxLDL (P<0.001); dyslipidemia with raised triglycerides (P<0.001) and lipoprotein(a) (P=0.002) and decreased HDL-cholesterol concentrations (P=0.03); raised alpha-1-antitrypsin (P=0.002), lupus anticoagulant (P=0.007), and homocysteine levels (P=0.03); more frequent osteoporosis (P=0.03); and a higher cumulative prednisolone dose (P=0.05) compared with SLE controls. Disease duration, smoking, blood pressure, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus did not differ significantly between the groups.

alpha set of distinct CVD risk factors separate SLE cases from SLE controls and population controls. If confirmed in a prospective study, they could be used to identify SLE patients at high risk for CVD in order to optimize treatment.