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Objectives To assess the changes in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the associated risks factors in patients with low severity systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Common carotid IMT measurements were obtained by ultrasound from 101 patients with SLE at an interval of 2 years. Cardiovascular risk factors, disease activity, accumulated damage, severity (Katz index) and biochemical parameters (including high sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, C3a, C4a, C5a and homocysteine) were also assessed. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the effect of these variables on the end IMT measurement (eIMT) adjusted to the baseline measurement (bIMT). Results The cohort comprised 94.1% women, with a mean age at entry of 41.5 years and a mean disease duration of 12.1 years. An increase of 0.078 mm in IMT was detected over 2 years, from a mean bIMT of 0.37 mm to a mean eIMT of 0.44 mm (p<0.001). When adjusted for the bIMT, multiple linear regression identified bIMT, age at diagnosis, homocysteine, C3 and C5a as risk factors for IMT progression. Conclusions IMT significantly increases over 2 years in patients with SLE. Age, baseline IMT, C3, C5a anaphylatoxin and homocysteine are all associated risk factors, supporting a role for complement and homocysteine in the early stages of premature SLE-associated atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: To analyse the effect of targeted therapies, either biological (b) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), targeted synthetic (ts) DMARDs and other factors (demographics, comorbidities or COVID-19 symptoms) on the risk of COVID-19 related hospitalisation in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases., Methods: The COVIDSER study is an observational cohort including 7782 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate ORs and 95% CIs of hospitalisation. Antirheumatic medication taken immediately prior to infection, demographic characteristics, rheumatic disease diagnosis, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms were analysed., Results: A total of 426 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 from 1 March 2020 to 13 April 2021 were included in the analyses: 106 (24.9%) were hospitalised and 19 (4.4%) died. In multivariate-adjusted models, bDMARDs and tsDMARDs in combination were not associated with hospitalisation compared with conventional synthetic DMARDs (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.25 of b/tsDMARDs, p=0.15). Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNF-i) were associated with a reduced likelihood of hospitalisation (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.82, p=0.018), whereas rituximab showed a tendency to an increased risk of hospitalisation (OR 4.85, 95% CI 0.86 to 27.2). Glucocorticoid use was not associated with hospitalisation (OR 1.69, 95% CI 0.81 to 3.55). A mix of sociodemographic factors, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms contribute to patients' hospitalisation., Conclusions: The use of targeted therapies as a group is not associated with COVID-19 severity, except for rituximab, which shows a trend towards an increased risk of hospitalisation, while TNF-i was associated with decreased odds of hospitalisation in patients with rheumatic disease. Other factors like age, male gender, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms do play a role., Competing Interests: Competing interests: LL-V declares the following conflicts of interest for payment or honoraria for lectures, speakers’ bureaus for Lilly. JMAG declares consulting/lecture/speaker’s bureau fees from Abbvie, BMS, Galapagos, Lilly, MSD, Pfizer, Roche and UCB. JMP-R reports the following conflicts of interest for payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen and Roche. MAG-G received grants/research support from AbbVie, MSD, Janssen and Roche and had consultation fees/participation in company sponsored speaker's bureau from AbbVie, Pfizer, Roche, Celgene, MSD, Novartis, SOBI and Sanofi. FD-G reports the following conflicts of interest for payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus for Lilly, Pfizer, UCB and Novartis; payment for expert testimony for Abbvie, Roche and MSD; support for attending meetings for Pfizer; participation on advisory board for Gilead and Receipt of equipment Abbvie. CE declares support for attending meetings and/or travel from Pfizer and UCB. PV reports receiving consulting fees from Lilly, Novartis and Fresenius Kabi; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Sandoz, BMS, GSK, Sanofi and Roche; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Abbvie, Pfizer and Roche and grants or contracts from any entity for her hospital from Abbvie, Roche and MSD. JM-B reports the following conflicts of interest for payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus for UCB, GSK, Lilly and Novartis; support for attending meetings for UCB, GSK and Pfizer; participation on advisory board for UCB and GSK. MG declares the following conflicts of interest for payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus for UCB, GSK, Lilly and Abbvie; payment for expert testimony for GSK and participation on advisory board for GSK, Abbvie and UCB., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)