Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients are associated with insulin resistance and are at higher risk to develop diabetes mellitus (DM). SLE and DM could lead to renal failure respectively. However, it is unknown whether DM increases the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in SLE patients. This study aimed to evaluate potential synergistic effect of DM on SLE patients for development of ESRD. We conducted this study by using National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. We recruited SLE patients with newly-diagnosed DM as the study cohort. A comparison cohort at a 1: 1 ratio of SLE patients without DM matched by age, sex, age at the diagnosis of SLE, duration between diagnosis of SLE and DM, and various comorbidities through propensity score matching were recruited. After 5.01 +/- 3.13 years follow-up, the incidence of ESRD was significantly higher in the DM group than in the non-DM group (Incidence rate ratio: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.70-4.32). After control of confounding factors, DM was not an independent risk factor of ESRD. After starting dialysis, DM patients had a similar mortality rate to those without DM. In summary, SLE patients superimposed with subsequent DM are associated with potentially higher risk to develop ESRD.
