PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Seong-Kyu Kim
AU  - Jung-Yoon Choe
AU  - Shin-Seok Lee
TI  - Charlson Comorbidity Index Is Related to Organ Damage in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Data from KORean lupus Network (KORNET) Registry
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.160900
DP  - 2017 Mar 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.160900
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2017/03/07/jrheum.160900.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2017/03/07/jrheum.160900.full
AB  - Objective The aim of this study was to identify whether comorbidity status is associated with organ damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods A total of 502 patients with SLE enrolled in the KORean lupus Network were consecutively recruited. Data included demographics, age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCIa), disease activity indexes, the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI), the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 health survey (SF-36) score, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score. Results Of the total patients, 21.1% (n = 106) experienced organ damage (SDI ≥ 1). Univariate correlation analysis revealed that SDI was not statistically correlated with any clinical variables (correlation coefficient r < 0.3 of all). There were significant differences in the BDI, mental component score of the SF-36, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), CCIa, C-reactive protein, and mean dose of corticosteroid between non-damage (SDI = 0) and damage (SDI ≥ 1) groups. The presence of damage to at least 1 organ in patients with SLE was found to be closely related with higher CCIa, higher SLEDAI, and mean dose of corticosteroid (OR 1.884, 95% CI 1.372–2.586, p < 0.001; OR 1.114, 95% CI 1.041–1.192, p = 0.002; OR 1.036, 95% CI 1.004–1.068, p = 0.026; respectively) in binary logistic regression analysis. Conclusion This study suggests that organ damage as assessed by the SDI in Korean patients with SLE is related to comorbidities together with disease activity and corticosteroid exposure.