Traditional risk factor assessment does not capture the extent of cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. However, the degree of endothelial dysfunction and its relationship to traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors have not been examined in SLE. Methods: In a case–control design, 35 patients with clinically stable SLE and 35 control subjects matched for age, sex, body mass index and smoking status were studied. Arterial elasticity, lipid profile, homocysteine, measures of inflammation and oxidative stress were determined. Results: Among traditional vascular risk factors, there was a nonsignificant trend towards lower blood pressure in the control subjects, whereas low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were significantly lower in the SLE group (2.5 vs 3.3 mmol/L, P