Article

Lupus an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and mortality. The dominant risk factors are SLE itself, age, and high total triglyceride levels rather than the traditional Framingham risk factors.

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and mortality. The dominant risk factors are SLE itself, age, and high total triglyceride levels rather than the traditional Framingham risk factors.

Goldberg and associates evaluated a group from the Toronto Risk Factor Study for 7 to 9 years. Study participants-241 patients with SLE and 237 controls-were monitored for evidence of CAD. Cardiovascular and lupus-specific risk factors that could influence the onset of CAD were examined.

CAD occurred in 7.1% of the women with SLE and 2.1% of the controls. Body mass index and incidence of metabolic syndrome were similar in the 2 groups, as was the 10-year risk calculation for coronary disease. Among all women, CAD was positively linked with age and postmenopausal status. CAD was predicted by sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and a triglyceride level of 2.8 mmol/L or higher in controls but not in patients with SLE; none of the lipid subfractions predicted CAD in the latter group.

The authors noted that their findings emphasize the need to identify measurable lupus-related factors that accelerate atherosclerosis in SLE and to determine prospectively the value of screening for subclinical atherosclerotic disease.

Related Videos
Orrin Troum, MD: Accurately Imaging Gout With DECT Scanning
John Stone, MD, MPH: Continuing Progress With IgG4-Related Disease Research
Philip Conaghan, MBBS, PhD: Investigating NT3 Inhibition for Improving Osteoarthritis
Rheumatologists Recognize the Need to Create Pediatric Enthesitis Scoring Tool
Presence of Diffuse Cutaneous Disease Linked to Worse HRQOL in Systematic Sclerosis
Alexei Grom, MD: Exploring Safer Treatment Options for Refractory Macrophage Activation Syndrome
Jack Arnold, MBBS, clinical research fellow, University of Leeds, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine
John Tesser, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine, Midwestern University, and Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Lecturer, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, and Arizona Arthritis & Rheumatology Associates
Gaith Noaiseh, MD: Nipocalimab Improves Disease Measures, Reduces Autoantibodies in Sjogren’s
Laure Gossec, MD, PhD: Informing Physician Treatment Choices for Psoriatic Arthritis
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.