Aortic aneurysm association with SLE - a case-control study

Objectives Aortic aneurysm is a life threatening cardiovascular complication in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between SLE and occurrence of aortic aneurysms. Methods Patients with SLE were compared with age- and sex-matched controls regarding the proportion of aortic aneurysm in a case-control study. Chi-square and t-tests were used for univariate analysis and a logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. The study was performed utilizing the medical database of Clalit Health Services. Results The study included 5018 patients with SLE and 25,090 age- and sex-matched controls. The proportion of aortic aneurysm in patients with SLE was increased compared with the proportion in controls (0.6% and 0.1%, respectively, p<0.001). In a multivariate analysis SLE was associated with the coexistence of aortic aneurysms (odds ratio 2.06, 95% confidence interval 1.21-3.51). Conclusions Patients with SLE have a higher proportion of aortic aneurysms as compared with matched controls. Therefore, physicians treating patients with SLE should be aware of this life threatening association.