Alternatively, since ApoA1 in our study was decreased across all ages in SLE and was exacerbated further by active disease, it is also possible that an increased ApoB : A1 ratio could be driven by a dominant decrease in ApoA1, supporting previous work describing reduced HDL to be the most common lipid abnormality in SLE (80% of patients with active disease and approximately one-third of inactive patients) [13]. This evidence concerns the gene APOB and systemic lupus erythematosus.