Comparison of Quality of Life in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Healthy Controls in North-East of Iran

Background Objective: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-system autoimmune disorder that its symptoms could affect all aspects of a patient’s quality of life (QoL).This study aimed to assess the quality of life of SLE patients and compare them with those of healthy individuals. It also attempted to compare the QoL of SLE patients suffering from minor and major organ involvement to that of healthy individuals. Materials Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Rheumatic Diseases Research Center, Mashhad, Iran, from 2018 to 2019. A total of 280 participants were selected and divided into two groups of patients with SLE (n=139, one of whom was excluded from the case group due to the lack of information.) and healthy controls (n=140). After obtaining the demographic characteristics of the general health, the groups were compared using the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF 36) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Results: The mean QoL score was significantly lower in SLE patients, compared to the healthy controls (P 0.05). Moreover, according to the WHOQOL-BREF, environmental health was lower in patients with lung and skin involvement, compared to the healthy controls (P=0.01). According to the results obtained from the SF-36 questionnaire, the total QoL status was lower in patients with both minor and major organ involvement, compared to the healthy controls (P 0.05). There was also a significant difference between patients with joint involvement and the healthy controls regarding QoL (P=0.02). Conclusion: According to the obtained results, SLE can negatively alter QoL. The severity and activity of the disease in some major organs, including the lung and joints, were associated with reduced QoL.