The LupusQoL and associations with demographics and clinical measurements in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
OBJECTIVE
Having developed and validated a disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measure for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the LupusQoL, we determined its relationship to demographic and clinical measurements in a group of patients with SLE.


METHODS
A group of 322 outpatients completed the LupusQoL. Demographic (age, sex, marital status, ethnicity) and clinical variables (disease duration, disease activity, damage) were recorded. Associations between the 8 LupusQoL domains and age, disease duration, disease activity, and damage were explored using Spearman's correlation coefficients. Differences in LupusQoL scores were examined for sex and marital status using the Mann-Whitney U test. Ethnic groups were compared using ANOVA.


RESULTS
All domains of LupusQoL were impaired, with fatigue (56.3) being the worst affected and body image (80.0) the least. The correlations between the LupusQoL domain scores and age (r = -0.01 to -0.22) and disease duration (r = 0 to 0.16) were absent or weak. Similarly, there were no significant differences in the LupusQoL scores regarding sex, marital status, or the 3 main ethnic groups (Black-Caribbean, Asian, White). Although there were statistically significant correlations between the scores of the LupusQoL domains and some scores of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index (r = -0.22 to 0.09) and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (r = -0.29 to 0.21), these were weak.


CONCLUSIONS
HRQOL was impaired in this cohort of outpatients with SLE as assessed by the validated lupus-specific LupusQoL. There were no clinically important associations between the 8 domains of the LupusQoL and clinical or demographic variables in this group of patients. Thus, the LupusQoL is a relatively independent outcome measure in patients with SLE.
McElhone
Kathleen
K
Department of Rheumatology, Administration Block, Level 1, Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn BB2 3HH, UK.
Castelino
Madhura
M
Abbott
Janice
J
Bruce
Ian N
IN
Ahmad
Yasmeen
Y
Shelmerdine
Joanna
J
Peers
Kate
K
Isenberg
David
D
Ferenkeh-Koroma
Ada
A
Griffiths
Bridget
B
Akil
Mohammed
M
Maddison
Peter
P
Gordon
Caroline
C
Teh
Lee-Suan
LS
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires