Objective: To determinate health related quality of life (HRQoL) in SLE patients and correlate it with socioeconomic factors.
Methods: The study was conducted on 83 SLE patients who fulfilled at least 4 out of 11 ACR criteria. HRQoL was measured by SF-36. Socioeconomic data were collected from the patients at the time of filling-up SF-36 questionnaire.
Results: SLE patients presented decreased HRQoL. Duration of the disease, as well as age of the patients, had an influence on it. Patients who lived in the villages obtained lower results than those from the cities. More educated patients assessed their HRQoL as higher. Surprisingly, patients who described their social conditions as worse presented better quality of life. There was a statistically significant correlations between HRQoL and socioeconomic factors.