Cutaneous lupus erythematosus found to have similar negative impact for patients from two centers
FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) similarly negatively impacts quality of life among patients treated at two different centers, according to a study published online June 18 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Noting that a study at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPenn) in Philadelphia demonstrated that quality of life is negatively impacted in CLE patients, Rebecca Vasquez, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) in Dallas, and colleagues conducted surveys relating to quality of life among patients with CLE at UTSW (91 participants) and UPenn (157 participants).
The researchers found that most scores on the Skindex-29+3 and Short Form 36 (SF-36) surveys were similar between the two groups of patients. Compared to UPenn patients, UTSW patients were significantly more affected in the functioning and lupus-specific domains of the Skindex-29+3 and in the physical functioning, role-physical, and general health SF-36 subscales. Gender, income, education, presence of systemic lupus erythematosus, and skin disease activity were associated with poor quality of life in the UTSW patients.
"Differences in a minority of subdomains were likely attributed to variations in psychosocial behavior, presence of systemic lupus erythematosus, and gender," the authors write. "The combined quality-of-life data [strengthen] the notion that CLE patients are among the most severely impaired in terms of quality of life when compared with other common dermatologic and medical conditions."
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
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