Lourenco, F. and Moura, A. and Ferreira, L. and Caixeiro Mateus, Ceu and Moraes-Fontes, M. F. (2015) The Relationship between Organ Damage and Quality of Life in Portuguese Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 33 (3). S55-S55. ISSN 0392-856X
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Introduction. Functional status, as assessed by health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) instruments, is an important outcome measure in quality of care of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients, increasingly recognised alongside improvement in survival and a need for humanistic and economic studies. Notwithstanding its importance, this is one of the few Portuguese studies that aim to understand the relationship between HRQoL measured by SF-36v2 and EQ-5D-3L and damage accrual. Methods. The study was prospectively conducted in patients fulfilling the revised 1997 ACR SLE criteria, consecutively enrolled during routine clinical assessment. Age, gender, disease number/type of ACR criteria and organ damage (SLICC/DI) were recorded. Self-reported SF-36 and EQ-5D-3L Portuguese versions of questionnaires were sent by mail. Patient participation was voluntary, informed and confidential. Results. The 43 respondents were predominantly female (95%). Mean age and disease duration were 49±15 and 10±6 years, respectively, with mean ACR criteria of 6±1. Damage occurred in 19 patients (43%), mean SLICC index 1.6±1. Overall, SF-36 reported consistently lower values in all dimensions when compared to the Portuguese population. Average values for physical and mental component summaries of SF-36 were 42.41±12.6 and 45.21±12.5, respectively. EQ-5D-3L mean was 0.64±0.2. There was no correlation between any of the QoL indices and degree of damage accrual. Conclusion. As expected with chronic illnesses, SLE results in reduced QoL regardless of the measure used. As previously reported, HRQoL measures seem to complement rather than correlate with permanent disease damage in SLE.