Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients and Their Impact on Health-related Quality of Life

Overview

Journal BMC Musculoskelet Disord

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Orthopedics
Physiology

Date 2024 Apr 8

PMID 38589834

Authors

Samar Tharwat

Sara Mahmood Husain

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms experienced by SLE patients and determine how those symptoms relate to their health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Materials And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was carried out on 103 adult SLE patients. sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic data were recruited. They were asked to complete the following: Nordic Musculoskeletal, Short-Form McGill Pain, and Lupus QoL Questionnaires.

Results: The mean age was 30.81 ± 9.44 years. There was a total of 86 females and 17 males (F: M:5:1). Almost all the patients reported MSK symptoms (96.1%). The maximum number of patients reported pain in the right and left wrist and hand (64.1%, 63.1%, respectively). One-fourth (25.2%) described at least five bodily sites of MSK symptoms, while 70.9% had more than five sites of MSK symptoms. Most of the patients described the pain as discomforting (40.8%). Patients with MSK symptoms scored significantly worse in all domains. In addition, the QoL scores of patients with more than 5 body sites of MSK symptoms were significantly lower than those of patients with fewer than 5 sites of MSK symptoms.

Conclusion: SLE patients have a high MSK burden, and MSK symptoms have a negative impact on HRQoL in these patients.

Citing Articles

Musculoskeletal manifestations in a cohort of Behçet's disease patients and their impact on health-related quality of life.

Tharwat S, Jaber N, Aljubaeh H, Abumunshar O Intern Emerg Med. 2025; .

PMID: 40055302 DOI: 10.1007/s11739-025-03903-9.

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