Demographics and disease characteristics at index of patients with SLE with and without COVID-19 diagnosis
| Characteristics | Without COVID-19, n=6091 | With COVID-19, n=54 |
| SLE severity, n (%) | ||
| Mild | 3896 (64.0) | 31 (57.4) |
| Moderate | 1278 (21.0) | 10 (18.5) |
| Severe | 917 (15.1) | 13 (24.1) |
| Age at SLE diagnosis, years, mean (SD) | 42.1 (14.2) | 45.2 (15.8) |
| Age group, n (%) | ||
| 18–29 | 1295 (21.3) | 6 (11.1) |
| 30–39 | 1540 (25.3) | 17 (31.5) |
| 40–49 | 1478 (24.3) | 14 (25.9) |
| 50–59 | 999 (16.4) | 7 (13.0) |
| 60+ | 779 (12.8) | 10 (18.5) |
| Female, n (%) | 5543 (91.0) | 50 (92.6) |
| Race, n (%) | ||
| White | 4085 (67.1) | 38 (70.4) |
| Black | 710 (11.7) | 7 (13.0) |
| Asian | 620 (10.2) | 7 (13.0) |
| Mixed | 118 (1.9) | 1 (1.9) |
| Other | 152 (2.5) | 0 |
| Unknown | 406 (6.7) | 1 (1.9) |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD) | 26.3 (5.9) | 25.9 (6.1) |
| Total time in cohort, patient days | 1 094 913 | 9622 |
| Follow-up time, patient months, mean (SD) | 5.99 (0.59) | 5.94 (0.84) |
| Primary care prescriptions during the baseline period, n (%)** | ||
| Oral corticosteroids | 1930 (31.7) | 21 (38.9) |
| Other corticosteroids | 707 (11.6) | 4 (7.4) |
| Azathioprine | 474 (7.8) | 4 (7.4) |
| Ciclosporin | 54 (0.9) | 1 (1.9) |
| Methotrexate | 433 (7.1) | 2 (3.7) |
| Mycophenolate | 448 (7.4) | 1 (1.9) |
| Hydroxychloroquine/antimalarials | 3224 (52.9) | 24 (44.4) |
| Charlson comorbidity score distribution, n (%) | ||
| 0 | 2998 (49.1) | 21 (38.9) |
| 1 | 1891 (31.0) | 15 (27.8) |
| 2 | 672 (11.0) | 7 (13.0) |
| 3 | 292 (4.8) | 4 (7.4) |
| 4+ | 248 (4.1) | 7 (13.0) |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||
| Hypertension | 1157 (19.0) | 15 (27.8) |
| Asthma | 1089 (17.9) | 12 (22.2) |
| Pneumonia (history) | 888 (14.6) | 14 (25.9) |
| Diabetes | 751 (12.3) | 13 (24.1) |
| Pleurisy | 355 (5.8) | 2 (3.7) |
| Obesity | 351 (5.8) | 5 (9.3) |
| Stroke (history) | 303 (5.0) | 3 (5.6) |
| Myocardial infarction (history) | 213 (3.5) | 6 (11.1) |
| ESRD or dialysis | 87 (1.4) | 2 (3.7) |
| Arterial/venous thrombosis | 52 (0.9) | 1 (1.9) |
| Nephritis | 49 (0.8) | 0 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 44 (0.7) | 0 |
| Haemolytic anaemia | 21 (0.3) | 0 |
*Secondary care prescribed medications are not reported.
BMI, body mass index; ESRD, end-stage renal disease; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.