TUESDAY, Nov. 4, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Women with lupus have more risk factors for heart disease than women without the autoimmune disorder, says a study by researchers at the University of Toronto Lupus Clinic.
In addition to traditional risk factors for heart disease, women with lupus have several novel metabolic risk factors that may be linked to the inflammation caused by lupus, the researchers say. Their report appears in the November issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism.
The study, which included 250 women with lupus and 250 healthy women in a control group, found those with lupus were more prone to such traditional risk factors for heart disease as hypertension and diabetes. Lupus patients were also more sedentary.
The two groups were matched for age. Despite that, the women with lupus were more likely to be menopausal -- 38 percent compared to 19 percent of the control group. Women with lupus experienced menopause, on average, five years earlier than women in the control group.
The lupus patients also had much higher levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and homocysteine. These are all factors related to lipid metabolism and characteristic of inflammatory disorders such as lupus. These probably contribute to the loss of protection from coronary heart disease (CHD) in women with lupus.
"Many of the factors identified are potentially amenable to screening and intervention. Further studies to understand the additional contribution of the inflammatory process to CHD risk in lupus are needed, as are studies to accurately predict the future risk of CHD in this high-risk population," lead researcher Dr. Ian N. Bruce says in a prepared statement.
Several previous studies confirmed that women with lupus are five to eight times more likely to develop CHD than women in the general population. That risk is especially pronounced among women younger than 55.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that's marked by progressive damage to the kidneys, heart and brain.
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