More Consistent Antimalarial Intake in First 5 Years of Disease Is Associated with Better Prognosis in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective. To examine whether more consistent use of antimalarial agents (AM) leads to better results in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods. From a longitudinal cohort study, we identified inception patients with a minimum of 5 years of followup. They were divided into 3 groups: patients who took AM >60% of the time (group A), those who took AM <60% of the time (group B), and those who did not receive AM (group C) during the first 5 years of followup. Outcomes included increase in Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI), flare, achieving low disease activity (LDA), adjusted mean Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000, cumulative doses of steroids (CMS), and AM-related retinal toxicity. Regression analysis models were constructed to identify predictors of the outcomes. Results. There were 459 patients identified: 236 (51.4%) in group A, 88 (19.2%) in group B, and 135 (29.4%) in group C. The changes in SDI, flare event, and CMS were significantly lower in group A, which more often achieved LDA. Multivariable analysis revealed that the patients in group A had a lower risk of increasing SDI and were more likely to achieve LDA at Year 5 compared to the patients in group C. Patients taking AM had lower CMS over the 5 years of followup. There was only 1 patient with AM-related retinal toxicity in each group. Conclusion. More consistent use of an AM over the first 5 years of SLE is associated with better outcomes.