Background/Aims: We measured the brachial artery pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) and intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery to evaluate atherosclerosis in young women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy controls.
Methods: Twenty-one premenopausal female patients with SLE and 21 healthy controls were enrolled. The groups were matched for age, sex, ethnicity, and atherosclerosis risk factors. Smokers and those with the atherosclerosis risk factors hypertension and diabetes were excluded from this study. IMT was measured with high-resolution ultrasonography. BaPWV was measured with volume plethysmography.
Results: The mean age was 34.20 years in the SLE group and 36.87 years in the healthy controls. The IMT of the right and left common carotid arteries in the SLE group did not differ significantly from that in the healthy controls. The BaPWV was significantly higher in the right (1.40±0.26 vs. 1.17±0.09 cm/sec, mean±SD; p=0.003) and left (1.41±0.26 vs. 1.19±0.08 cm/sec, p=0.013) arms in the SLE group than in the healthy controls. There were no significant differences in the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI), body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein (CRP), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, lipoprotein a, and homocysteine between the two groups.
Conclusions: The IMT in premenopausal women with SLE was not significantly different from that in healthy controls, while the BaPWV, which reflects arterial stiffness, was significantly higher than in the healthy controls.
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