Methods:  Patients consecutively included into the joint database of five university hospitals were analyzed for low or high disease activity according to different criteria. Standardized mean differences (SMD) for two ASDAS versions were evaluated. selleck compound Results:  The ASDAS versions (back pain, morning stiffness, patient global pain, pain/swelling of peripheral joints, plus either erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein) discriminated high and low disease activity in subgroups according to Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (BASDAI) and ASAS remission/partial remission criteria. ASDAS versions

were also not influenced by peripheral arthritis and correlated well with other outcome measurements and

acute-phase reactants. The ASDAS versions performed better than patient-reported measures or acute-phase reactants discriminating high and low disease activity status. Conclusion:  Both ASDAS versions, consisting of both patient-reported data and acute-phase reactants, performed well in discriminating low and high disease activity. Further longitudinal data may better estimate the usefulness of ASDAS to JQ1 cell line assess disease activity subgroups and treatment response. “
“Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease and glucocorticoid is the mainstay of treatment in SLE. The reported incidence of steroid-induced diabetes mellitus (SDM) ranged between 1–53%. We sought to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of SDM in patients with SLE. A total of 100 SLE patients attending

the Nephrology/SLE and Rheumatology Clinic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) who received corticosteroid treatment were recruited. The diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was based on the 2010 American Diabetes Association’s criteria. Prevalent cases of SDM were also included. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with SDM. Thirteen of them (13%) developed SDM, with the median onset of diagnosis from Protein kinase N1 commencement of glucocorticoid treatment being 8 years (range 0.5–21 years). Although only seven Indians were recruited into the study, three of them (42.9%) had SDM compared to Malays (9.3%) and Chinese (12.8%) (P ≤ 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that higher numbers of system or organ involvement in SLE, abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and daily prednisolone of ≥ 1 mg/kg/day were the important associated factors of SDM (P ≤ 0.05). Meanwhile, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) use was associated with reduced SDM prevalence (P < 0.05). The prevalence of SDM among SLE patients was 13% and Indians were more prone to develop SDM compared to other races. Higher numbers of system involvement, abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and the use of oral prednisolone of ≥ 1 mg/kg/day were associated with SDM, while HCQ use potentially protects against SDM.