title: Cumulated organ damage is associated with arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus irrespective of renal function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether there is an association between cumulated organ damage and arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with normal renal function and without renal damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-eight SLE women with normal renal function and without renal damage, and 102 sex- and age-matched controls with no history of coronary heart disease or peripheral arterial disease were studied. Cumulated organ damage and arterial stiffness were measured using the SLICC/ACR Damage Index (SDI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), respectively. Patients were categorised as with (SDI ≥1) or without cumulated organ damage (SDI=0) and bivariate analyses were performed to compare both groups. A multivariate logistic regression was carried out to analyse the independent factors associated with cumulated organ damage. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation between SDI and PWV, adjusted for appropriate confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PWV was significantly higher in patients with respect to controls (p=0.007). Also, patients with SDI ≥1 had significantly higher PWV than those with SDI=0 (p=0.007). In the multivariate analysis, cumulated organ damage was significantly associated with PWV (p=0.006) and obesity (p=0.003). Furthermore, PWV correlated with SDI after adjustment for age, SLE duration, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, renal function, prednisone and homocysteine (r=0.283, p=0.011). Patients with increased PWV were more likely to have organ damage (SDI ≥1) than those with normal PWV (67% vs. 36%, p=0.023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cumulated organ damage was found to be independently associated with the arterial stiffness in SLE women without renal involvement.
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain. jomasabio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: José Mario
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sabio
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vargas-Hitos
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez-Bordonado
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Navarrete-Navarrete
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz-Chamorro
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Investigación Biosanitaria de Andalucía Oriental Foundation, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olvera-Porcel
authors.affiliation: Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Alonso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness