Impact of early disease factors on metabolic syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus: data from an international inception cohort
Background The metabolic syndrome (MetS) may contribute to the increased cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We examined the association between MetS and disease activity, disease phenotype and corticosteroid exposure over time in patients with SLE. Methods Recently diagnosed (< 15 months) patients with SLE from 30 centres across 11 countries were enrolled into the Systemic
