Dyslipidemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Association with disease activity and B-type natriuretic peptide levels

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the levels of lipids and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with heart failure (HF). A total of 46 patients with active SLE and 40 healthy, age-matched control subjects were studied. BNP was measured by an immunofluorescence assay in fresh plasma. Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein (Apo) B, ApoA-I and lipoprotein(a) were assessed. Compared with the control subjects, HDL-C and ApoA-I levels were considerably decreased and TG level increased markedly from SLE patients. The average concentration of HDL-C and ApoA-I in the SLE group with HF was significantly reduced compared to those patients without HF. The results showed that the levels of HDL-C and ApoA-I in SLE patients were negatively correlated with BNP. Disease activity was associated with the TC and TG levels. The present data indicated the presence of a cardiovascular (CV) risk in active SLE with high disease activity, which was demonstrated by the high frequency of dyslipidemia and higher BNP concentrations. Therefore, dyslipoproteinemia may underlie some of the increased risk for CV disease and HF in patients with SLE.