RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Risks, Subtypes, and Hospitalization Costs of Stroke Among Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Taiwan JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP jrheum.111510 DO 10.3899/jrheum.111510 A1 I-Kuan Wang A1 Chih-Hsin Muo A1 Yi-Chih Chang A1 Chih-Chia Liang A1 Shih-Yi Lin A1 Chiz-Tzung Chang A1 Tzung-Hai Yen A1 Feng-Rong Chuang A1 Pei-Chun Chen A1 Chiu-Ching Huang A1 Fung-Chang Sung YR 2012 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2012/06/25/jrheum.111510.abstract AB Objective To compare risks, subtypes, and hospitalization costs of stroke between cohorts with and without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods From the catastrophic illnesses registry of Taiwan’s universal health insurance claims data, we identified 13,689 patients with SLE diagnosed in 1997-2008 and selected 54,756 non-SLE controls, frequency-matched with age (every 5 years), sex, and index year. Age-specific and type-specific stroke incidence, hazard, and cost of stroke were compared between the 2 cohorts to the end of 2008. Results Compared with the non-SLE cohort, the risk of stroke was 3.2-fold higher in the SLE cohort (5.53 vs 1.74 per 1000 person-years) with an overall adjusted HR of 2.90 (95% CI 2.52–3.33). The agespecific risk was the highest in patients 1–17 years old (HR 163, 95% CI 22.2–1197) and decreased as age increased (p = 0.004). Hypertension and renal disease were the most important comorbidities in the SLE cohort predicting stroke risk (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.28–2.39 and HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.32–2.10, respectively). There were more hemorrhagic strokes in the SLE cohort than in the non-SLE cohort, but not significantly (28.0% vs 23.4%; p = 0.10). The hospitalization cost for stroke patients was more than twice the cost for those with SLE than for those without (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Stroke risk and hospital care costs are considerably greater for patients with SLE than without. The relative risk of stroke is the highest in young patients with SLE.