Evaluation of damage index and its association with risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the value of damage index in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the association between damage index and disease severity, flare up numbers, disease duration, and antiphospholipid antibodies. METHODS: Eighty patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were included. The damage was measured using the SLICC (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics)/ACR damage index (SDI). The disease flare was defined by the increase in the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). The disease severity surrogates were the presence of class III/IV glomerulonephritis, the presence of severe central nervous system (CNS) involvement, and cyclophosphamide administration. Analysis was performed by independent Student-t and chi-square tests via SPSS(16) software. RESULTS: There were significant association between the damage accrual and the disease severity, flare-up, and antiphospholipid antibodies (p = 0.001, p = 0.004, and p = 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The disease severity, frequency of flares, and positive antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.