Patients' beliefs about the causes of systemic lupus erythematosus.
OBJECTIVE
Beliefs about the causes of SLE have rarely been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore these beliefs.


METHODS
Face-to-face interviews were carried out with a total of 33 women with SLE, fulfilling the ACR criteria, with a median age of 40 (range 15-65) years. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.


RESULTS
Women attributed SLE to many causes, some of them being not congruent with biomedical models. The most frequent beliefs about the causes of SLE related to autoimmunity, psychological and familial causes, heredity, magico-religious causes (especially in first- and second-generation migrants) and infectious causes. Autoimmunity was often seen as a self-destructive process.


CONCLUSIONS
Being diagnosed with SLE prompted 'Why me?' and 'Why now?' questioning among these women, who attempted to reconstruct coherence in their life histories. For clinicians, analysis of the beliefs about the causes clarifies what is at stake for the patient. The objective is to allow patients to produce narrative to describe their chronic illness experience in order to facilitate a long-term treatment alliance. Further studies are required to understand relationships between beliefs about causes, psychological distress and SLE morbidity.
Taïeb
Olivier
O
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and General Psychiatry, Avicenne Hospital, AP-HP, Université Paris 13, 93000 Bobigny, France. olivier.taieb@avc.aphp.fr
Bricou
Olivier
O
Baubet
Thierry
T
Gaboulaud
Valérie
V
Gal
Béatrice
B
Mouthon
Luc
L
Dhote
Robin
R
Guillevin
Loïc
L
Rose Moro
Marie
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D015551:Autoimmunity; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006167:Guilt; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011678:Punishment; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult