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The objective of this study was to characterize organ damage in lupus patients enrolled in the Dallas Regional Autoimmune Disease Registry (DRADR). Retrospective chart review was carried out on 99 patients with 4 or more diagnostic criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 15 with less than 4 of these criteria, who were designated as having incomplete lupus (ILE). The majority of patients (84%) were African American or Hispanic/Latino; mean disease duration was 9.5 years. The mean damage score was 1.57 (range 0 to 8) and a damage score greater than 0 was present in 64% of the patients. The ILE group had lower mean damage scores (0.67) than the SLE group (1.67; P=0.04), explained in part by the shorter disease duration in the ILE patients (4.33 years vs. 10.24 years; P=0.003). The most prevalent damage category was renal, present in 24% of patients. Malignancies occurred in individuals who were significantly older than those who had renal or peripheral vascular damage (P=0.0007). The findings confirm clinical impressions that the DRADR includes a high-risk lupus population. The ILE patients have less damage but also shorter disease duration, suggesting that this might represent an earlier disease stage. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that ILE patients include a subset that is likely to experience progressive organ damage. Longitudinal study of these patients has significant likelihood of tracking the changes that are correlated with disease progression to SLE.

Objective: To determine the feasibility and validity of using wearable activity trackers to test associations between gout flares with physical activity and sleep. Methods: Participants with physician-diagnosed gout, hyperuricemia (≥ 6.8 mg/dl), current smartphone use, and ≥ 2 self-reported flares in the previous 6 months were enrolled. Physical activity, heart rate, and sleep data were obtained from wearable activity trackers (Fitbit Charge HR2). Daily compliance was defined by the availability of sufficiently complete activity data at least 80% of the day. Associations of weekly gout flares with sleep and activity were measured by comparing flare-related values to average sleep and steps per day. We used mixed linear models to account for repeated observations. Results: Forty-four participants enrolled; 33 met the criteria for minimal wear time and flare reporting, with activity tracker data available for 60.5% of all total study days. Mean ± SD age was 48.8 ± 14.9 years; 85% were men; 15% were black; 88% were on allopurinol or febuxostat, and 30% reported ≥ 6 flares in the prior 6 months. Activity trackers captured 204 (38%) person-weeks with flares and 340 (62%) person-weeks without flares. Mean ± SD daily step count was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) during weeks with gout flares (5900 ± 4071) than during non-flare periods (6972 ± 5214); sleep however did not differ. Conclusion: The pattern of wear in this study illustrates reasonable feasibility of using such devices in future arthritis research. The use of these devices to passively measure changes in physical activity patterns may provide an estimate of gout flare occurrence and duration. Trial registration: NCT, NCT02855437. Registered

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