Burden of comorbidities in South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus

To investigate the prevalence and spectrum of comorbidities in South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A nested case-control study of a known alive group (AG) and deceased group (DG) of 200 and 40 patients, respectively, matched for age and sex, attending a tertiary Lupus Clinic. Comorbidities that were documented included, but not restricted to, those listed in the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Lupus disease severity was assessed using the lupus severity index (LSI). Patients were mainly black female (94%), and the median age (IQR) and median disease duration (IQR) were 33 (25–42) and 6 (3–11) years, respectively. Overall, 191 (79.5%) patients experienced ≥ 1 comorbidities. The median (IQR) LSI and CCI scores were significantly higher in the DG than the AG (8.5 (6.7–9.1) vs 6.3 (5.2–8.3), p