Comparison of demographic data, biochemical measurements, and therapies between women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without hypertension, categorized by age. Mann-Whitney U test was used for continuous variables and Pearson’s chi-square test for categorical variables. Data are expressed as the median (interquartile range) or a percentage.
| Women with SLE, age ≤ 40 yrs, n = 58 | Women with SLE, age > 40 yrs, n = 58 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT, n = 23 | No HT, n = 35 | p | HT, n = 40 | No HT, n = 14 | p | p* | |
| Age, yrs | 32 (21–36) | 34 (28–38) | NS | 54 (46–62) | 46 (42–53) | 0.006 | < 0.001 |
| Disease duration, yrs | 5 (3–12) | 9 (6–13) | 0.050 | 18 (11–25) | 12 (7–19) | 0.057 | < 0.001 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 25 (23–31) | 25 (22–28) | NS | 28 (23–33) | 23 (21–28) | 0.037 | NS |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 120 (115–125) | 111 (102–119) | 0.003 | 130 (118–140) | 109 (95–117) | < 0.001 | 0.011 |
| Diastolic BP, mm Hg | 79 (71–85) | 73 (65–80) | 0.039 | 79 (75–88) | 69 (66–71) | < 0.001 | NS |
| Fasting glucose, mg/dl | 82 (75–88) | 81 (75–86) | NS | 86 (78–89) | 81 (76–85) | NS | NS |
| Uric acid, mg/dl | 4.6 (3.9–5.6) | 3.9 (3.3–4.3) | 0.002 | 5.5 (4.4–6.2) | 4.1 (3.7–4.8) | 0.005 | NS |
| Creatinine, mg/dl | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | NS | 0.9 (0.7–1.1) | 0.7 (0.7–0.8) | 0.041 | NS |
| Creatinine clearance, mg/min | 129 (100–158) | 115 (98–133) | NS | 78 (57–101) | 82 (74–113) | NS | < 0.001 |
| Insulin, mU/l | 12.2 (11.3–13.4) | 6.4 (4.4–9.8) | 0.001 | 8.7 (5.4–13.6) | 5.0 (3.2–10.3) | NS | 0.051 |
| HOMA index | 2.4 (1.8–3.3) | 1.3 (0.9–1.9) | 0.001 | 1.9 (1.0–2.7) | 1.0 (0.6–2.9) | NS | NS |
| SLEDAI | 6 (4–10) | 2 (2–8) | 0.007 | 4 (2–6) | 2 (0–5) | NS | 0.007 |
| SDI | 1 (0–3) | 0 (0–1) | 0.008 | 1 (0–4) | 0 (0–1) | NS | NS |
| Anti-dsDNA-positive, % | 74 | 34 | 0.007 | 21 | 28 | NS | 0.001 |
| Complement 3, mg/dl | 96 (72–109) | 93 (84–106) | NS | 105 (85–130) | 106 (93–116) | NS | 0.078 |
| Albumin, g/dl | 4.1 (3.8–44) | 4.5 (4.3–4.6) | < 0.001 | 4.3 (4.1–4.6) | 4.4 (4.1–4.5) | NS | 0.021 |
| Renal involvement, % | 74 | 23 | < 0.001 | 38 | 7 | 0.043 | 0.008 |
| ESR, mm/h | 31 (27–68) | 20 (14–32) | 0.045 | 31 (22–39) | 22 (12–34) | NS | NS |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dl | 0.2 (0.1–0.5) | 0.1 (0.1–0.3) | NS | 0.2 (0.1–0.5) | 0.2 (0.1–0.6) | NS | NS |
| Interleukin 6, pg/ml | 1.9 (1.5–23) | 1.6 (1.5–9.8) | NS | 1.7 (1.5–31) | 1.5 (1.5–20) | NS | NS |
| Fibrinogen, mg/dl | 348 (315–413) | 299 (255–326) | < 0.001 | 368 (315–410) | 305 (286–393) | NS | NS |
| Homocysteine, μmol/l | 14 (11–16) | 11 (10–13) | 0.022 | 14 (13–17) | 11 (10–14) | 0.001 | NS |
| Hemoglobin, mg/dl | 12 (11–13) | 13 (12–14) | 0.011 | 14 (13–15) | 14 (13–14) | NS | 0.002 |
| Platelet count (105/l) | 2.6 (2.4–3.4) | 2.1 (1.9–2.9) | 0.015 | 2.0 (1.6–2.5) | 2.4 (1.9–2.9) | NS | 0.001 |
| Prednisone, mg/day | 6.3 (3.8–10) | 2.5 (0–5) | 0.001 | 2.5 (0–5) | 3.1 (0–5.6) | NS | < 0.001 |
| Prednisone | 87 | 63 | 0.041 | 63 | 71 | NS | 0.047 |
| Immunosuppressive agents | 65 | 34 | 0.031 | 23 | 7 | NS | 0.001 |
| NSAID | 39 | 69 | 0.033 | 58 | 57 | NS | NS |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 83 | 89 | NS | 60 | 64 | NS | NS |
↵* Comparison between younger and older hypertensive women. HT: hypertension; NS: not significant; BP: blood pressure; HOMA: homeostasis model assessment; SLEDAI: SLE Disease Activity Index; SDI: Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.