Frailty Index Scores Linked with SLE Damage

Higher scores on the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Frailty Index (SLICC-FI) were linked with greater damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to study findings published online in Arthritis Care & Research.

The study included 503 patients with SLE from the multicenter, multiethnic LUMINA cohort. Among them, 90.3% were female, and the mean age at diagnosis was 37 years.

The first visit in which the SLICC-FI was derived was considered the baseline, and the average baseline SLICC-FI was 0.26, according to the study. The average SLICC/American College of Rheumatology damage index baseline score was 0.6. Changes in damage index scores at the most recent visit averaged 1.9.

After adjustment for age, sex, and other possible confounders, higher baseline SLICC-FI scores were associated with more damage accrual in the multivariable model. Researchers reported an incidence rate ratio of 1.20.

“The SLICC-FI is associated with damage accrual in SLE patients from a multi-ethnic cohort, supporting the importance of this index in the evaluation of SLE patients, combining several aspects of their disease,” concluded lead author Manuel F. Ugarte-Gil, MD, MSc, Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen in Perú, and coauthors.

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference:
Ugarte-Gil MF, Dubey J, McGwin G Jr, Reveille JD, Vilá LM, Alarcón GS. The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Frailty Index (SLICC-FI) is associated with damage in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Arthritis Care Res. Published online ahead of print March 7, 2022.