Association of one-point glucocorticoid-free status with chronic damage and disease duration in systemic lupus erythematosus: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective It is still unclear how glucocorticoids (GCs) affect the long-term clinical course of patients with SLE. The objective of this study is to explore the factors associated with GC-free treatment status. Methods Using data from the lupus registry of nationwide institutions, GC dose at registration was compared between short, middle and long disease durations of <5, 5-20 and ≥20 years, respectively. After excluding patients who never used GC, we evaluated the relationship between GC-free status and chronic damage using Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index. Results GC doses at enrolment of the 1019 patients were as follows: GC-free in 101 (10%); 0