title: The LupusQoL and associations with demographics and clinical measurements in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Administration Block, Level 1, Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn BB2 3HH, UK.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McElhone
authors.forename: Madhura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castelino
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.forename: Ian N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: Yasmeen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shelmerdine
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peers
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Isenberg
authors.forename: Ada
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferenkeh-Koroma
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akil
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maddison
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Lee-Suan
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Teh
mesh_terms: 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