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Objective: To study bidirectional change and predictors of change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and proteinuria in lupus nephritis (LN) using a multistate modeling approach., Methods: Patients in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics inception cohort were classified annually into estimated GFR state 1 (>60 ml/minute), state 2 (30-60 ml/minute), or state 3 (<30 ml/minute) and estimated proteinuria state 1 (<0.25 gm/day), state 2 (0.25-3.0 gm/day), or state 3 (>3.0 gm/day), or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or death. Using multistate modeling, relative transition rates between states indicated improvement and deterioration., Results: Of 1,826 lupus patients, 700 (38.3%) developed LN. During a mean ± SD follow-up of 5.2 ± 3.5 years, the likelihood of improvement in estimated GFR and estimated proteinuria was greater than the likelihood of deterioration. After 5 years, 62% of patients initially in estimated GFR state 3 and 11% of patients initially in estimated proteinuria state 3 transitioned to ESRD. The probability of remaining in the initial states 1, 2, and 3 was 85%, 11%, and 3%, respectively, for estimated GFR and 62%, 29%, and 4%, respectively, for estimated proteinuria. Male sex predicted improvement in estimated GFR states; older age, race/ethnicity, higher estimated proteinuria state, and higher renal biopsy chronicity scores predicted deterioration. For estimated proteinuria, race/ethnicity, earlier calendar years, damage scores without renal variables, and higher renal biopsy chronicity scores predicted deterioration; male sex, presence of lupus anticoagulant, class V nephritis, and mycophenolic acid use predicted less improvement., Conclusion: In LN, the expected improvement or deterioration in renal outcomes can be estimated by multistate modeling and is preceded by identifiable risk factors. New therapeutic interventions for LN should meet or exceed these expectations., (© 2016, American College of Rheumatology.)

Objective: To examine the frequency, characteristics, and outcome of mood disorders, as well as clinical and autoantibody associations, in a multiethnic/racial, prospective inception cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)., Methods: Patients were assessed annually for mood disorders (4 types, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) and 18 other neuropsychiatric events. Global disease activity scores (SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 [SLEDAI-2K]), damage scores (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index [SDI]), and Short Form 36 subscales, mental and physical component summary scores were collected. Time to event, linear and ordinal regressions, and multi-state models were used as appropriate., Results: Among the 1,827 patients with SLE, 88.9% were female, and 48.9% were Caucasian. The mean ± SD age of the patients was 35.1 ± 13.3 years, disease duration was 5.6 ± 4.8 months, and the length of followup was 4.7 ± 3.5 years. During the course of the study, 863 (47.2%) of the 1,827 patients had 1,627 neuropsychiatric events. Mood disorders occurred in 232 (12.7%) of 1,827 patients, and 98 (38.3%) of 256 mood disorder events were attributed to SLE. The estimated cumulative incidence of any mood disorder after 10 years was 17.7% (95% confidence interval 15.1, 20.2%). A greater risk of mood disorder was associated with concurrent neuropsychiatric events (P ≤ 0.01), and a lower risk was associated with Asian race/ethnicity (P = 0.01) and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs (P = 0.003). Mood disorders were associated with lower mental health and mental component summary scores but not with the SLEDAI-2K, SDI, or lupus autoantibodies. Among the 232 patients with depression, 168 (72.4%) were treated with antidepressants. One hundred twenty-six (49.2%) of 256 mood disorders resolved in 117 (50.4%) of 232 patients., Conclusion: Mood disorders, the second most frequent neuropsychiatric event in patients with SLE, have a negative impact on health-related quality of life and improve over time. The lack of association with global SLE disease activity, cumulative organ damage, and lupus autoantibodies emphasizes the multifactorial etiology of mood disorders and a role for non-lupus-specific therapies., (© 2015, American College of Rheumatology.)

Objective: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) contributes significantly to disability in older individuals, and racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected. The present study aimed to characterize differences in clinical and experimental pain, including pain inhibition, among older African American (AA) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) subjects with knee OA., Methods: AA and NHW subjects with knee OA (n = 267) completed clinical and functional pain assessments, including quantitative sensory testing (QST). We hypothesized that, when compared to NHW subjects, AA subjects would display 1) lower pain tolerance and higher ratings of heat-, mechanical-, and cold-induced pain, 2) greater temporal summation of pain, 3) reduced pain inhibition, and 4) greater clinical pain and poorer function. In addition, we hypothesized that the findings from QST would significantly predict the severity of clinical pain within each race/ethnicity., Results: AA subjects with knee OA displayed increased pain sensitivity, greater temporal summation, and reduced pain inhibition when compared to NHW subjects with knee OA. Moreover, AA subjects reported greater clinical pain and poorer function. Racial/ethnic differences in clinical pain became nonsignificant when the analyses were controlled for education and annual income, whereas differences in QST findings remained highly significant. Although the extent of pain inhibition predicted the severity of clinical pain in both groups, different QST measures were additionally predictive of clinical pain within each group., Conclusion: The results of this study establish that there are racial/ethnic differences in experimental and clinical pain and function in older individuals with knee OA. Our findings indicating that different QST measures were associated with clinical pain within the 2 racial/ethnic groups, whereas reduced pain inhibition was important in all participants, warrant further study in order to elucidate the common and group-specific pathophysiologic mechanisms contributing to clinical pain in OA., (Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.)