Demographic and clinical characteristics of study population (n = 525).
| Characteristic | n | (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| F | 472 | (89.9) |
| M | 53 | (10.1) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Caucasian | 294 | (56.0) |
| African American | 196 | (37.3) |
| Other | 35 | (6.7) |
| Age at SLE diagnosis, yrs | ||
| 10 to 25 | 113 | (21.5) |
| 26 to 40 | 230 | (43.8) |
| 41 to 76 | 182 | (34.7) |
| Year of SLE diagnosis | ||
| Before 1990 | 64 | (12.2) |
| 1990 to 1999 | 236 | (45.0) |
| 2000 to 2006 | 225 | (42.9) |
| Prednisone dose at first visit, mg/mo | ||
| 0 | 254 | (48.4) |
| > 0–180 | 62 | (11.8) |
| > 180–360 | 48 | (9.1) |
| > 360–540 | 34 | (6.5) |
| > 540 | 127 | (24.2) |
| Lupus disease activity at first visit (SLEDAI score) | ||
| 0 | 153 | (29.1) |
| 1 to 2 | 137 | (26.1) |
| 3 to 4 | 112 | (21.3) |
| ≥ 5 | 123 | (23.4) |
| Organ damage score at first visit S (DI index) | ||
| 0 | 318 | (60.6) |
| 1 | 118 | (22.5) |
| 2 | 52 | (9.9) |
| ≥ 3 | 37 | (7.0) |
SLEDAI: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index; SDI: Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index.