Psychopathology in paediatric systemic lupus erythematosus

Although systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is more common in adults, when it is diagnosed before the age of 16, it has a worse prognosis. Depressive and anxious symptoms are common in this population but few studies have examined anxiety or its relationship with manifestations of the disease or type of treatment received.

To determine the frequency of anxious and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with SLE, as well as their relationship with disease activity and the immunosuppressive treatment used.

A cross-sectional study in which paediatric patients with SLE from 9 to 17 years of age from a paediatric referral centre in the city of Bogota were included. Each patient was interviewed and immunosuppressive treatment, time to diagnosis and disease activity were recorded. The frequency of depressive and anxious symptoms and quality of life were measured with validated questionnaires. The relationship between anxious or depressive symptoms and disease activity and immunosuppressive treatment was sought.

40 patients with a mean age of 14±2 years were interviewed. 52% of cases had active disease. 60% presented scores indicating anxiety and one patient a score suggesting depression. 37% reported suicidal thoughts following the diagnosis of SLE. No relationship was found between disease activity and psychiatric manifestations. Of the different drugs used, only prednisone was associated with higher anxiety symptom scores (p=0.002).

Anxiety was more prevalent than depression in patients with paediatric SLE. This disorder and the use of corticosteroids were factors of vulnerability to manifest psychopathology. Lupus activity is not related to psychiatric symptoms. SLE has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients.