Background/Purpose: Many patients implement a complementary dietary approach in addition to conventional pharmacologic therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There is growing evidence that several macro- and micronutrients in a patient’s diet may impact SLE activity. There is paucity of data, however, on the baseline dietary mineral intake by patients with SLE, and as such this pilot study focuses on minerals as well as its relationship to SLE disease activity.

Methods: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers – University Hospital in Newark, NJ. Fifty-one patients with SLE from an inner-city university practice from 2021-2022 were tasked to complete an online dietary journal through the Diet History Questionnaire III (DHQ III) online interface, specifying their food and beverage intake for the preceding 4 weeks. Seven subjects did not complete the survey, one withdrew, while the rest failed to complete and follow up despite multiple calls. The remaining 44 subjects completed this survey and the data were analyzed using the online survey interface generating a breakdown of macro- and micronutrients, including mineral elements. In this pilot study, the eight minerals assessed were calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, and potassium. SLE disease activity scores were obtained concurrently with the dietary survey with the use of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K). Correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.

Results: Forty-four out of 51 patients completed the DHQ III, all of whom met the 2019 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The distribution of SLEDAI-2K scores was skewed towards lower disease index. Age was equally distributed between 20-60 years. The population was predominantly composed of Black and Hispanic subjects, 44.2% and 34.9%, respectively. The mean SLEDAI-2K scores were 6 for Blacks (n = 19), 4 for Hispanics (n = 15), 3 for Asians (n = 3), and 4 for others (n = 5). Only one subject was male and was excluded from statistical analyses. In the preliminary analysis, we looked at correlations between the SLEDAI-2K scores and the levels of dietary minerals, and data suggest that copper and potassium were positively correlated with SLEDAI-2K scores (P< 0.06). Correcting for age and race, the partial correlation for copper and potassium trends towards significant: copper rP=0.28, P< 0.08; potassium rP=0.28, P< 0.075.

Conclusion: Our preliminary analysis points to trends of associations of both copper and potassium to SLE disease activity index. Our study also shows that Blacks were associated with higher disease activity index compared to other races. Additional data from longer and larger studies are needed to better understand the relationship between dietary minerals and SLE clinical disease activity.

« Back to ACR Convergence 2022

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/dietary-mineral-intake-of-an-inner-city-population-and-its-impact-on-disease-activity-in-patients-with-sle/