TOPLINE:

Patients aged 18-37 years with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) had increased arterial stiffness compared with matched healthy individuals. Both the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index, used to measure arterial stiffness, were independently associated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaques.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the prevalence of arterial stiffness in patients with SLE, identify its predictors, and examine associations with subclinical atherosclerosis.
• They included 194 patients with SLE (median age, 46 years; 87.6% women) and an equal number of healthy individuals from the local community matched for age, sex, and mean arterial pressure.
• Arterial stiffness was measured using the carotid-femoral PWV and an augmentation index adjusted to 75 beats/min, with participants' age being grouped as 18-37, 38-57, and 58-75 years.
• The cardiovascular risk was evaluated using the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation tool. Patients were categorised as those at high risk if their blood pressure was > 180/110 mm Hg or total cholesterol levels > 310 mg/dL or they had moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD); those with severe CKD or atherosclerotic plaques were categorised as those at very high risk.
• A sum of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, and reduced physical activity, was also assessed. Atherosclerotic plaques were identified on the basis of the defined criteria using ultrasonography of carotid and femoral arteries.

TAKEAWAY:

• Patients with SLE had a higher augmentation index than matched healthy individuals (P = .014); those aged 18-37 years had both higher carotid-femoral PWV and augmentation index (P < .05 for both).
• Among individuals at low-moderate cardiovascular risk, those with SLE had a higher augmentation index than healthy ones (P = .029).
• Both the carotid-femoral PWV and augmentation index were independently associated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaques (P < .05 for both).
• In patients with SLE, both measures of arterial stiffness were associated with age, mean arterial pressure, BMI, and the sum of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (P < .05 for all).

IN PRACTICE:

"While vascular atherosclerotic lesions, such as coronary artery calcifications, carotid IMT [intima-media thickness] and plaques occur relatively late in the atherosclerotic process, screening for early detection of ArS [arterial stiffness] can help guide CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk assessment and management in this high-risk young adult population," the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Antigoni Soufla, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. It was published online on August 29, 2025, in Rheumatology.

LIMITATIONS:

This study included exclusively White participants, which restricted the generalisability of the findings. Most patients were in a state of low disease activity, thus limiting the ability to assess associations between disease activity and arterial stiffness.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive funding from any agency. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.