Table 8 Explorative analysis of potential predictors of cardiovascular events during follow-up in systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus patients ^a

SSc versus SLE

-0.173

0.84 (0.33 to 2.10)

0.712

Age (per 5 years)

0.262

1.30 (1.10 to 1.54)

0.003

Male sex

2.833

17.00 (5.99 to 48.22)

<0.001

Carotid and femoral artery plaque

 Group 3 (CP and FP) versus group 1 (no plaque)

2.595

13.40 (2.99 to 59.95)

<0.001

 Group 3 (CP and FP) versus group 2 (CP or FP)

2.672

14.47 (2.51 to 83.55)

0.003

 Group 2 (CP or FP) versus group 1 (no plaque)

-0.077

0.93 (0.12 to 7.39)

0.942

Arterial hypertension

1.678

5.35 (1.91 to 15.02)

<0.001

Nicotine use (per 5 pack-years)

0.143

1.15 (1.04 to 1.28)

0.005

Coronary heart disease

2.592

13.36 (4.67 to 38.20)

<0.001

Age at diagnosis (per 5 years)

0.075

1.20 (1.04 to 1.39)

0.014

C-reactive protein (per mg/dl)

0.220

1.25 (0.98 to 1.59)

0.079