جودة الحياة بين مرضى الذئبة الحمامية الجهازية في محافظة كربلاء 2023

Quality of Life among Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Karbala Governorate 2023

Abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystemic, heterogeneous, autoimmune disease with a variety of clinical symptoms that primarily affect young women of childbearing age. SLE is associated with a significant patient burden.
Objectives: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among patients with SLE and to evaluate its association with different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of SLE patients.
Methods: Seventy-five patients with SLE who attended the Rheumatology outpatient clinics of Imam Al-Hassan Al-Mujtaba Teaching Hospital in Karbala, Iraq, participated in a cross- sectional study. The period of time for this study was January 2023–March 2024. Data were collected through direct interviews and the using of structured questionnaires. Lupus quality of life (lupusQoL) questionnaire was used to assess disease-specific health related quality of life; and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI-2K) was recorded.
Results: This study included 75 SLE patients with the mean age of 38.12 ± 11.70 years, who were 97.3% females, and disease duration was (71.29±65.65 months). All LupusQol domains were reduced. The total mean Score of QOL was 43.44±22.75. Intimate relationship accounted for the highest Qol score (55.05±38.45), whereas fatigue represented the lowest score (35.51±29.61). There was no significant statistical differences of Total mean score of QOL and the demographic characteristics of the study patients. Younger age groups, employee and patients of an urban residence significantly scored higher than older age groups and housewives in Physical Health domain. The patients with
Kidney/ Neuropsychiatric involvement significantly scored higher than the patients with no Kidney/ Neuropsychiatric involvement. Result of multiple regression analysis revealed that age was the strongest predictor in the Physical Health domain of QOL (β = -0.8).
Conclusions: patients with SLE had low scores of all LupusQoL domains. Physicians should focus on QoL and on how to improve it through regular monitoring of the quality of life of SLE as standard care, and managing the disease should be centered on the patients, not only on the disease, with collaborative work between internists, rheumatologists, and psychologists, in order to provide holistic treatment, including psychological care