Demographic and clinical characteristics of lupus patients in the whole cohort and in patients with cSLEDAI=0 for at least 1 year
| Whole cohort 646 (100) | cSLEDAI=0 for at least 1 year | P value | |||
| Overall 548 (84.8) | PGA <0.5 concordant with cSLEDAI=0 353 (64.4) | PGA <0.5 discordant with cSLEDAI=0 195 (35.6) | |||
| Female | 585 (90.6) | 502 (77.8) | 324 (64.5) | 178 (35.5) | ns |
| Age at baseline, years | 40.6±12.1 | 40.7±12.2 | 39.8±12.3 | 42.4±12.0 | 0.015 |
| SLE duration ≤2 years | 159 (24.6) | 139 (21.5) | 107 (77.0) | 52 (37.4) | ns |
| Disease duration, years | 9.2±6.7 | 8.9±6.8 | 9.1±6.8 | 8.7±6.9 | ns |
| Damage | |||||
| SDI baseline | 0.55±0.96 | 0.52±0.94 | 0.50±0.96 | 0.55±0.91 | ns |
| SDI increase during FU | 0.43±0.74 | 0.36±0.67 | 0.35±0.68 | 0.37±0.67 | ns |
| SDI increase during FU | 206 (31.9) | 149 (27.2) | 92 (26.1) | 57 (29.2) | ns |
| GC related SDI | 88 (13.6) | 69 (12.6) | 40 (11.3) | 29 (14.9) | ns |
| GC possibly related SDI | 43 (6.7) | 33 (6.0) | 21 (5.9) | 12 (6.2) | ns |
| GC independent SDI | 101 (15.6) | 64 (11.7) | 43 (12.2) | 21 (10.8) | ns |
| Lupus flare during FU | |||||
| Muco-cutaneous | 243 (37.6) | 189 (34.5) | 93 (26.3) | 44 (22.6) | ns |
| Musculoskeletal | 249 (38.5) | 213 (38.9) | 97 (27.5) | 70 (35.9) | 0.040 |
| Serositic | 45 (7.0) | 37 (6.8) | 22 (6.2) | 6 (3.1) | ns |
| Neurological | 36 (5.6) | 28 (5.1) | 12 (3.4) | 8 (4.1) | ns |
| Glomerulonephritis | 202 (31.3) | 149 (27.2) | 76 (21.5) | 36 (18.5) | ns |
| Haematological | 166 (25.7) | 138 (25.2) | 81 (22.9) | 39 (20.0) | ns |
| Therapy during follow-up | |||||
| Cumulative PDN, grams | 11.25±14.55 | 9.87±13.45 | 8.64±11.40 | 12.10±16.31 | 0.004 |
| Immunosuppressants | 316 (48.9) | 250 (45.6) | 150 (42.5) | 100 (51.3) | 0.048 |
| Antimalarials | 460 (71.2) | 394 (71.9) | 248 (70.3) | 146 (74.9) | ns |
| Belimumab | 48 (7.4) | 32 (4.9) | 19 (59.4) | 13 (40.6) | ns |
| Previous treatments | |||||
| Immunosuppressant ever | 381 (59.0) | 306 (55.8) | 199 (56.4) | 107 (54.9) | ns |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 197 (30.5) | 150 (27.4) | 103 (29.2) | 47 (24.1) | ns |
| Cyclophosphamide | 144 (22.3) | 111 (20.3) | 75 (21.2) | 36 (18.5) | ns |
| Azathioprine | 200 (31.0) | 158 (28.8) | 105 (29.7) | 53 (27.2) | ns |
| Cyclosporine A | 110 (17.0) | 83 (15.2) | 56 (15.9) | 27 (13.8) | ns |
| Methotrexate | 90 (13.9) | 67 (12.2) | 32 (9.1) | 35 (17.9) | 0.002 |
| Antimalarials | 483 (74.8) | 409 (74.6) | 267 (75.6) | 142 (72.8) | ns |
| Rituximab | 31 (4.8) | 18 (3.3) | 11 (3.1) | 7 (3.6) | ns |
| Belimumab | 41 (6.4) | 29 (5.3) | 15 (4.2) | 14 (7.2) | ns |
| IV Ig | 28 (4.3) | 19 (3.5) | 10 (2.8) | 9 (4.6) | ns |
| Plasmapheresis | 26 (4.0) | 20 (3.7) | 11 (3.1) | 9 (4.6) | ns |
| Previous lupus manifestations, ever | |||||
| Muco-cutaneous | 412 (63.8) | 342 (62.4) | 214 (60.6) | 128 (65.6) | ns |
| Musculoskeletal | 436 (67.5) | 371 (67.7) | 230 (65.2) | 141 (72.3) | ns |
| Serosal | 125 (19.4) | 98 (17.9) | 65 (18.4) | 33 (16.9) | ns |
| Neurological | 103 (15.9) | 82 (15.0) | 39 (11.0) | 43 (22.1) | 0.001 |
| Glomerulonephritis | 262 (40.6) | 206 (37.6) | 148 (41.9) | 58 (29.7) | 0.005 |
| Haematological | 245 (37.9) | 211 (38.5) | 139 (39.4) | 72 (36.9) | ns |
| Anti-dsDNA antibodies | 490 (75.9) | 412 (75.2) | 259 (73.4) | 153 (78.5) | ns |
| Anti-SSA/SSB antibodies | 275 (42.7) | 229 (41.9) | 145 (41.2) | 84 (43.3) | ns |
| Anti-U1RNP antibodies | 135 (20.9) | 107 (19.6) | 76 (21.6) | 31 (15.9) | ns |
| Anti-Sm antibodies | 93 (14.4) | 74 (13.5) | 45 (12.7) | 29 (14.9) | ns |
| Antiphospholipid antibodies | 258 (39.9) | 220 (40.1) | 140 (39.7) | 80 (41.0) | ns |
| Antiphospholipid syndrome | 94 (14.6) | 80 (14.6) | 51 (14.4) | 29 (14.9) | ns |
Data are reported as number (%) or mean±SD.
anti-dsDNA, anti double-stranded DNA; anti-U1RNP, anti-(U1) ribonucleoprotein; cSLEDAI, clinical SLE Disease Activity Index 2000; FU, follow-up; GC, glucocorticoids; IV Ig, intravenous immunoglobulines; ns, not significant; PDN, prednisone; PGA, physician global assessment; SDI, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.