Clinical Assessment of Cytokine Profiles and Haematological Parameters in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related hematological disorders have different pathogenic mechanisms involving im-mune dysregulation as well as microangiopathy. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines and SLE-related hematological abnormalities for Saudi Patients. Methods: The current cross-sectional study including 140 participants was performed at the Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Hospital (PMAH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two blood samples were collected from each of the study participants for evaluation of the haematological indices including complete blood count (CBC), erythro-cyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and cytokine profile (i.e., tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-10 (IL-10)). Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) software, v25. Results: Haemato-logical abnormalities were documented in 63% of SLE patients, and anaemia was the highest at 52%. Haemoglobin levels were found to be significantly lower among SLE patients compared to the controls (p < 0.001). In the cytokine profiles, the levels of TNF-alpha (p < 0.001), IL-6 (p < 0.001), and IL-10 (p = 0.009) were significantly higher among SLE patients compared to the controls. A positive cor-relation was also identified between TNF-alpha, platelet count, red cell distribution width (RDW), and ESR. Conclusions: Haematological abnormalities were found to be the most common among SLE patients. Further, the correlation between cytokine profile and haemato-logical indices indicates the influence of cytokines in the development of haematological abnormalities. Understanding hematological abnormalities and cytokines' role in the pathogenesis of these abnormalities may aid in the early diagnosis and development of more specific SLE disease therapies.