title: Perceived illness stigma is associated with depression in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  1) To assess the prevalence of depression in a sample of female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 2) To evaluate the association between perceived illness stigma and depression in those patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study, 80 female SLE patients were evaluated for the presence of depression and perceived illness stigma. Depression was diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis Ι disorders, clinical version (SCID-I-CV), the severity of the depressive symptoms was evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression Subscale (HADS-D), and the stigma of illness was assessed using the Stigma Impact Scale (SIS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of depression among female SLE patients was 18.75% (15/80). The perceived illness stigma was higher among the depressed group than among the non-depressed group (SIS mean scores were 43.87±7.87 and 26.62±3.79 respectively P<.001), there was a significant positive correlation between SIS and HAD-D scores (r=0.73, P=.002), and there was a significant association between perceived illness stigma and diagnosis of depression (R(2)=0.53, P=.002, odds ratio=3.2), which increased the severity of depressive symptoms (R(2)=0.64, P<.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates a significant association between illness stigma and depression in female SLE patients which may be important in promoting optimal coping for these women .
authors: Department of Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sehlo90@yahoo.com
authors: Mohammad G
authors: MG
authors: Sehlo
authors: Sami M
authors: SM
authors: Bahlas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D057545:Social Stigma