Characteristics of patients with Wegener’s granulomatosis, with and without increased intima–media thickness, and controls
| Characteristic | Normal IMT (n = 12) | Increased IMT (n = 17) | Controls | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are mean (SD), n (%), or median (25th to 75th centile) unless specified. | ||||||
| Intima–media thickness (IMT) was considered to be increased when it exceeding 0.8 mm at the age of 50 and 0.9 mm in subjects over 50. | ||||||
| *p<0.05 v controls. | ||||||
| †p<0.05 v Wegener’s granulomatosis patients with increased IMT. | ||||||
| **p<0.01 v controls. | ||||||
| BVAS, Birmingham vasculitis activity score; HDL, high density lipoprotein; hsCRP, high sensitivity C reactive protein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; TIMP, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase; TM, thrombomodulin; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; vWF, von Willebrand factor. | ||||||
| Age (y) | 47.6 (13.8) | 57.2 (12.7) | 53.2 (14.5) | |||
| Male sex (n (%)) | 6 (50%) | 13 (76%) | 16 (62%) | |||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24.6 (2.2) | 26.2 (3.8) | 24.8 (2.8) | |||
| Blood pressure (mm Hg) | ||||||
| Systolic | 110 (15) | 118 (18) | 116 (17) | |||
| Diastolic | 66 (7)* | 71 (14) | 72 (8) | |||
| Smoking (n (%)) | 0 | 1 (6%) | 6 (23%) | |||
| Pack years | 0.5 | 4.5 (3 to 8) | ||||
| Diabetes (n) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Cholesterol | ||||||
| Total (mmol/l) | 5.82 (0.87) | 5.41 (0.90) | 5.58 (1.14) | |||
| LDL (mmol/l) | 3.89 (0.74) | 3.68 (0.84) | 3.67 (1.1) | |||
| HDL (mmol/l) | 1.21 (0.34) | 0.97 (0.30)* | 1.17 (0.26) | |||
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.62 (1.24) | 1.81 (0.74) | 2.03 (2.36) | |||
| Family history of cardiovascular disease (n (%)) | 1 (8) | 5 (29) | 8 (31) | |||
| Duration (months) | 85 (18 to 161) | 43 (29 to 80) | ||||
| Generalised disease (n (%)) | 7 (58%) | 13 (76%) | ||||
| Proteinuria (mg/l) | 0.3 (0 to 0.5) | 0.2 (0 to 0.65) | ||||
| Creatinine clearance (ml/min) | 85 (28) | 82 (30) | ||||
| Patients with exacerbation (n) | 9 | 8 | ||||
| Number of exacerbations | 2 (0 to 3)† | 0 (0 to 1.5) | ||||
| Cumulative BVAS | 36.5 (20.1) | 33.6 (14.9) | ||||
| (cum BVAS/duration in months) | 0.75 (0.60) | 0.89 (0.84) | ||||
| Prednisolone use (n) | 11 | 16 | ||||
| Cumulative prednisolone dose (g) | 15 (9 to 38) | 16 (11 to 24) | ||||
| Cumulative prednisolone dose (mg/duration in months) | 395 (104 to 612) | 323 (146 to 543) | ||||
| Antihypertensive agents (n) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |||
| HMG-CoA inhibitors (n) | 0 | 4* | 0 | |||
| hsCRP (mg/l) | 1.8 (0.8 to 7.0)* | 3.2 (1.6 to 7.2)** | 1.2 (0.16 to 0.66) | |||
| TM (ng/ml) | 3.0 (2.0 to 4.5) | 3.4 (2.5 to 5.4) | 4.02 (2.47 to 5.4) | |||
| VCAM-1 (ng/ml) | 413 (165) | 462 (106) | 404 (95) | |||
| vWF (%) | 119 (38 to 187) | 73 (32 to 177) | 68 (30 to 116) | |||
| MMP-3 (ng/ml) | 63.6 (51.6 to 128.7)* | 60.4 (45.8 to 79.4)* | 43.3 (23.1 to 58.6) | |||
| MMP-9 (ng/ml) | 502 (309) | 578 (347)* | 347 (124) | |||
| TIMP-1 (ng/ml) | 296 (118) | 316 (79)** | 238 (48) | |||