FRI0553 Obesity and The Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in The Nurses' Health Studies

BackgroundObesity in the U.S. has increased to an alarming extent over the past four decades. Obesity is related to risk of several autoimmune diseases, possibly via generation of adipokines and inflammatory cytokines. Prospective studies of obesity and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk are lacking however.ObjectivesTo prospectively evaluate the association between obesity and SLE riskMethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of women in the U.S. Nurses' Health Studies (NHS, 1976–2012, age 30–55 at baseline; NHSII, 1989–2013, age 25–42 at baseline). Incident SLE was confirmed by American College of Rheumatology 1997 criteria. Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) was reported at baseline and on biennial questionnaires. Cumulative average BMI (18.5 to