What are the factors associated with myocarditis and its impact on disease outcomes in patients with SLE?
In patients with SLE, African American ethnicity and higher disease activity at diagnosis are strongly associated with the occurrence of myocarditis, which may negatively impact survival and damage accrual.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the factors associated with myocarditis and its impact on disease outcomes in SLE patients. METHODS: SLE patients aged > or = 16 yrs, disease duration or = 5 yrs disease; however, myocarditis was not retained in the Cox proportional hazards regression model. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnicity and disease activity at diagnosis were associated with the occurrence of myocarditis in SLE. Myocarditis did not significantly impact on disease activity over time, but impacts some on damage accrual and survival, reflecting overall the more severe disease those patients experience.
Apte et al. (2007) studied this question.