Demographic characteristics and damage in total study cohort and in subgroups of patients according to the durations of remission (irrespective of the level of remission) achieved during the follow-up (upper part); damage accrual according to the levels of remission for each duration of remission (lower part)
| Total study cohort 293 | Unremitted disease 35 | 1-year remission 27 | 2-year remission 47 | 3-year remission 45 | 4-year remission 26 | ≥5-year remission 113 | p Values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 2009, years, mean±SD | 39.1±12.5 | 38.6±9.4 | 31.8±11.1 | 41.4±13.2 | 42.2±12.8 | 42.4±14.8 | 40.7±12.1 | 0.048 |
| Female, no. (%) | 253 (86.3) | 28 (80%) | 21 (77.8) | 41 (87.2) | 37 (82.2) | 24 (92.3) | 102 (90.3) | n.s. |
| SLE duration at 2015, years, mean±SD | 18.1±7.8 | 19.4±7.6 | 15.5±8.5 | 19.8±7.8 | 19.2±8.7 | 17.5±7.8 | 20.0±7.3 | n.s. |
| SDI at study entry | 0 (0–8) | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–3) | 1 (0–4) | 0 (0–4) | 0 (0–4) | 0 (0–8) | n.s. |
| SDI at the end of study | 1 (0–9) | 2 (0–7) | 2 (0–6) | 2 (0–5) | 1 (0–7) | 1 (0–5) | 0 (0–9) | <0.001 |
| Median (range) SDI increase | 1 (0–6) | 1 (0–6) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–3) | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–3) | <0.001 |
| Increase in SDI, no. of patients (%) | 151 (51.5) | 31 (88.6) | 22 (81.5) | 31 (66.0) | 23 (51.1) | 13 (50.0) | 31 (27.4) | <0.001 |
| Increase in SDI ≥2, no. of patients (%) | 51 (17.4) | 14 (40.0) | 12 (44.4) | 11 (23.4) | 6 (13.3) | 4 (15.3) | 4 (3.6) | <0.001 |
| Median (range) SDI increase according to the level of remission | ||||||||
| Clinical remission on-CS | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–3) | |||
| Clinical remission off-CS | – | – | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–2) | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–3) | 0 (0–1) | – |
| Complete remission | 2 (1–3) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–2) | |||
| p>0.05 | p>0.05 | p>0.05 | p>0.05 | p<0.001 | ||||
Upper part: variables with a parametric (age, SLE duration) and non-parametric distribution (SDI) were analysed by ANOVA test and Wilcoxon's test for multiple comparisons with 5° of freedom, respectively.
Lower part: the comparison of SDI among patients with different levels of remission (complete remission, clinical remission on-CS and off-CS) for each duration of remission was performed by Wilcoxon's test for multiple comparisons with two degrees of freedom.
ANOVA, analysis of variance; CS, corticosteroids; SDI, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.