To validate this hypothesis, we analyzed the relationship between serum sodium and IL-6 levels in an independent cohort of adults with SLE and found that serum sodium levels were correlated negatively with serum IL-6 levels (r = −0.317, p = 0.003), which was more prominent in SLE patients who were not treated with steroids (r = −0.424, p = 0.017). Here, IL6 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.