Table 3 Patient characteristics in male and female SLE patients (N = 106)

 Age at diagnosis (y)

12.4 ± 1.7

12.0 ± 2.5

0.477

 Age at FAH (y)

17.9 ± 1.7

17.4 ± 1.9

0.308

 Age at menarche/adult voice appearance (y)

14.5 ± 1.0

13.6 ± 1.6

0.001^a

 Disease duration (y)^c

5.7 ± 1.9

5.4 ± 2.7

0.701

 Disease duration before menarche/adult voice appearance (y)^b

2.0 (1.0, 3.5)

1.4 (0.0, 3.1)

0.314

 Diagnosis before menarche, n (%)

–

60 (69.0)

 Diagnosis before adult voice appearance, n (%)

16 (84.2)

–

0.181

 Cumulative Modified SLEDAI-2 K scores^b

117.0 (66.0, 177.0)

165.0 (75.0, 267.0)

0.526

 Weight at diagnosis (Z-score)^b

0.4 (−0.5, 1.6)

−0.2 (−0.9, 1.0)

0.257

 Final weight (Z-score)^b

0.3 (−1.4, 4.8)

0.7 (− 0.7, 3.0)

0.821

 Height at the diagnosis (Z-score)^b

0.0 (−0.9, 0.9)

−0.3 (−1.0, 0.7)

0.454

 Final height (Z-score)^b

−0.3 (−1.3, 0.3)

−0.02 (−1.3, 0.4)

0.662

 BMI at diagnosis (kg/m²) (Z-score)^b

−0.2 (−1.2, 1.6)

−0.4 (−1.5, 1.0)

0.327

 Final BMI (kg/m²) (Z-score)^b

0.1 (−1.1, 2.0)

0.4 (−0.6, 1.5)

0.618

 Parent-adjusted FAH (Z-score)^b

−1.7 (−2.3, −0.5)

−0.2 (−1.1, 0.4)

< 0.001^a

 Difference between FAH and MPH (cm)^b

−9.1 (−12.2, − 2.5)

−0.8 (−5.0, 1.9)

< 0.001^a

 Modified SLEDAI-2 K score

19.2 ± 10.2

15.4 ± 10.7

0.156

 Neurological, n (%)

8 (42.1)

24 (27.6)

0.212

 All renal involvement, n (%)

14 (73.7)

54 (62.1)

0.467

 Lupus nephritis class III, IV, V, n (%)

8 (42.1)

29 (33.3)

0.277

 Musculoskeletal, n (%)

8 (42.1)

47 (54)

0.346

 Hematological, n (%)

10 (52.6)

37 (42.5)

0.422

 Vasculitis, n (%)

3 (15.8)

15 (17.2)

1.000

 Serositis, n (%)

7 (36.8)

20 (23)

0.248

 Hematocrit (%)

31.3 ± 6.6

29.6 ± 7.0

0.307

 White blood cell count (×10³ cells/mm³)^b

6.0 (3.1, 7.9)

4.7 (3.4, 6.6)

0.656

 Absolute lymphocyte count (× 10³ cells/mm³)^b

1.1 (0.7, 2.6)

1.5 (1.1, 2.1)

0.376

 Platelet count (×10³ cells/mm³)^b

2.2 (1.3, 2.8)

2.3 (1.1, 3.0)

0.934

 Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mm/h)^b

44.0 (28.0, 57.0)

60.0 (23.0, 89.0)

0.227

 Anti-dsDNA (IU/mL)^b,d

240.7 (138.9, 609.5)

234.2 (90.6, 566.2)

0.709

 C3 levels (0.9–1.8 g/L)^b

0.4 (0.2, 1.0)

0.7 (0.4, 1.0)

0.036

 C4 levels (0.1–0.4 g/L)^b

0.07 (0.03, 1.27)

0.08 (0.05, 1.52)

0.463

 25-OH Vitamin D levels (ng/mL)^e

35.06 ± 11.41

33.52 ± 7.62

0.489

 Prednisolone, n (%)

19 (100)

87 (100)

–

 Cumulative corticosteroid dose (mg/kg)^f

445.8 ± 219.3

553.4 ± 367.3

0.091

 Cyclophosphamide, n (%)

9 (47.4)

39 (44.8)

0.873

 Cumulative cyclophosphamide (×10³ mg/m²)^b

6.3 (4.7, 6.5)

5.6 (4.1, 7.8)

0.735

 Other medications, n (%)

14 (73.7)

54 (62.1)

0.339

 –Azathioprine

10 (52.6)

53 (60.9)

0.505

 –Mycophenolate mofetil

4 (21.1)

18 (20.7)

1.000

 –Cyclosporine

1 (5.3)

3 (3.4)

0.552

 –Methotrexate

3 (15.8)

13 (14.9)

1.000