Preclinical vascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus and primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of preclinical vascular disease and associated risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

METHODS: We consecutively studied 70 SLE patients and 25 primary APS patients without clinical coronary artery disease. The control group included 40 healthy women. Carotid ultrasound was performed and the intima-media wall thickness (IMT) and presence of plaque was investigated in all patients and controls. Traditional vascular risk factors and SLE-disease and treatment related factors were also analysed.

RESULTS: SLE patients had a higher prevalence of traditional atherosclerosis risk factors: hypertension (P<0.005) and dyslipidaemia (P<0.05) and higher levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.03), triglycerides (P = 0.004) and apolipoprotein B (P = 0.04). The prevalence of carotid plaque was higher and appeared earlier in SLE patients than in the primary APS patients or controls (P<0.001). The IMT was similar in the three groups. SLE patients with secondary APS had a higher prevalence of carotid plaque than patients with primary APS (37.5% vs 8%, P = 0.03). The presence of plaque in SLE patients was associated with a higher SLICC score (2.40 +/- 1.78 vs 1.02 +/- 1.18, P = 0.002), higher ECLAM score (3.10 +/- 2.32 vs 1.84 +/- 1.59, P = 0.02) and older age (47.3 +/- 8.44 vs 37.38 +/- 11.28, P = 0.003) at the time of carotid ultrasound study.

CONCLUSION: Plaque prevalence in patients with primary APS is similar to that of controls and inferior to that of SLE patients with secondary APS. SLE patients have a high prevalence of early carotid atherosclerosis that is associated with cumulative disease damage and disease activity.