title: Quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus patients in Northeastern Brazil: Is health-related quality of life a predictor of survival for these patients?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify social, demographic and clinical characteristics that influence survival of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-three patients with a diagnosis of SLE were studied at our medical services in 1999 and then reviewed in 2005. We utilized a protocol to obtain demographic and clinical traits, activity and damage indices, and health-related quality of life via the SF-36. All statistical tests were performed using a significance level of 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 63 patients examined in 1999, six died, four were lost for the follow-up and the previous protocol was applied to the remaining 53 patients. The six patients who died presented the worst recorded health-related quality of life, in all aspects. The most important observed predictor of death was a mean lower score in the Role-Emotional Domain of the mental health component of the SF-36 (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health-related quality of life may be used as possible predictive factor of mortality among patients with SLE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Paraíba, Brazil. eutilia@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Eutilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruscato
authors.forename: Rozana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ciconelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D015996:Survival Rate