Atherosclerosis biomarkers in female systemic lupus erythematosus patients with and without cardiovascular diseases

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) and atherosclerosis are over presented in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Aim of the workThe aim of this study is to determine the frequency of some atherosclerosis biomarkers in SLE patients with and without CVD compared with controls.Patients and methods28 female SLE patients with a mean age of 30.1 ± 7.2 years and a history of CVD (SLE cases) were compared with 25 age matched SLE female patients but without a history of CVD (SLE controls) and 25 age matched population based control women (population controls). Intima, media thickness (IMT) was measured by B-mode ultrasound as a potential measure of atherosclerosis. Nontraditional biomarkers of atherosclerosis such as leptin, oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and homocysteine were also investigated.ResultsSLE cases had significantly increased IMT compared with SLE controls and population controls (p < 0.001), whereas IMT of SLE controls did not differ from population controls. Compared to SLE controls, SLE cases had raised circulating levels of leptin (p < 0.001), homocysteine, dyslipidemia with raised triglycerides (p < 0.001), decreased HDL-cholesterol concentration, (p < 0.001), lupus anticoagulants (p = 0.01), and higher cumulative prednisone dose (p = 0.4). Disease duration was comparable between the two SLE groups and the blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) were similar among the 3 groups.ConclusionA set of distinct CVD risk factors (biomarkers of atherosclerosis) separate SLE cases from SLE controls and normal population controls. If confirmed in a prospective study, they could be used to identify SLE patients at high risk of CVD in order to optimize treatment.