Quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled study.

Objective: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to compare it with that of healthy women and patients with primary fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: QOL was evaluated using the QOL scale, which includes 16 items, each scored on a 7 point scale. Healthy controls were chosen from hospital personnel.

Results: The study population comprised 75 female patients with SLE, 50 healthy women, and 30 women with primary FM. Compared to controls, patients with SLE had significantly lower scores for the health, work, active recreation, and independence items. The QOL scores were not associated with disease activity. Patients with SLE and FM had significantly lower scores for the health related items compared with patients with SLE without FM.

Conclusion: The QOL of patients with SLE was found to be impaired compared with controls. FM adversely affects the QOL of patients with SLE.