Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is affected by numerous clinical variables, including disease activity, damage, fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety. However, these associations have not yet been described in Mexican patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Objective: To evaluate the relationship between disease activity, damage, depression and fibromyalgia and HRQOL measured by the LupusQoL-instrument in Mexican patients with SLE.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in women fulfilling the 1997 ACR classification criteria for SLE. HRQOL was evaluated using a disease-specific instrument for SLE, the LupusQoL (validated for the Spanish-speaking population). Patients were evaluated clinically to determine the degree of disease activity and damage using the Mexican Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (Mex-SLEDAI) and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics-Damage Index (SLICC), respectively. Fibromyalgia and depression were assessed using the ACR criteria and the CES-D scale, respectively. The relationship between HRQOL and these variables was measured using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis.
Results: A total of 138 women with SLE, age 40.3±11 years, disease duration 8.8±6.4 years, with disease activity in 51.4%, depression in 50%, damage in 43% and fibromyalgia in 19.6% were included. Poorer HRQOL correlated with depression (r = -0.61; p< 0.005), fibromyalgia (r = -0.42; p< 0.005), disease activity (r = -0.37; p < 0.005) and damage (r = -0.31; p < 0.005). In the multivariate linear regression analysis, damage (β = -3.756, p<0.005), fibromyalgia (β = -0.920, p<0.005), depression (β = -0.911, p<0.005) and disease activity (β = -0.911, p<0.005) were associated with poor HRQOL.
Conclusion: SLE disease activity, damage, fibromyalgia and depression were associated with poor HRQOL in our sample of Mexican SLE patients.