Thrombovascular Events Affect Quality of Life in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Objective.To compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without previous thrombovascular events (TE).Methods.The Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) was used to assess HRQOL in 5 patient groups: (1) primary APS (PAPS; n = 35); (2) APS associated to SLE (SAPS; n = 37); (3) SLE+TE without persistent positive antiphospholipid antibody (SLE+TE–aPL; n = 75); (4) SLE–TE+aPL (n = 71); and (5) SLE–TE–aPL (n = 608).Results.The data on both mental component summary and physical component summary (PCS) scores showed an impaired quality of life in all patient groups. Patients in the SLE+TE–aPL group had a lower PCS score compared to patients in the SLE–TE+aPL group.Conclusion.The combination of SLE and TE has a more negative influence on reported HRQOL, compared to having SLE or APS alone.