A complex interaction between traditional CVD risk factors such as obesity, dyslipidemia, smoking, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension, as well as the presence of non-traditional CVD risk factors such as hyperhomocysteinemia, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and C-reactive protein levels, has been suggested as a cause of the high prevalence of CVD in SLE patients. Here, CRP is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.