Renal Interstitial Arteriosclerotic Lesions in Lupus Nephritis Patients: A Cohort Study from China

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate renal arteriosclerotic lesions in patients with lupus nephritis and investigate their associations with clinical and pathological characteristics, especially cardio-vascular features. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-nine patients with renal biopsy-proven lupus nephritis, diagnosed between January 2000 and June 2008 from Peking University First Hospital. RESULTS: In clinico-pathological data, patients with arteriosclerosis had higher ratio of hypertension and more severe renal injury indices compared with patients with no renal vascular lesions. More importantly, patients with renal arteriosclerosis had worse cardiac structure and function under transthoracic echocardiographic examination. Patients with renal arteriosclerosis tend to have higher ratios of combined endpoints compared with those of no renal vascular lesions, although the difference didn’t reach statistical meanings (P = 0.104). CONCLUSION: Renal arteriosclerotic lesion was common and associated with vascular immune complex deposits in lupus nephritis. It might have a certain degree of association with poor outcomes and cardiovascular events, which needs further explorations.