A recent study shows that not only lupus erythematosus is characterized by fatigue symptoms, but also other autoimmune diseases with cutaneous involvement.
Fatigue is a known symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but has not been extensively studied in other autoimmune diseases with skin involvement, such as cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), amyopathic dermatomyositis (ADM), or blistering autoimmune dermatoses (AIBD). A study published in the British Journal of Dermatology 2019 shows that fatigue is more common in patients with these autoimmune diseases compared with a matched control group. Fatigue is very stressful for those affected and often leads to a reduction in quality of life. The authors advise dermatologists to screen at-risk patients for fatigue symptoms.
The researchers used information from patients whose data were recorded in prospective longitudinal registries: SLE (n=165), CLE (n=226), ADM (n=136), AIBD (n=79). These data were compared with those of a representative control group (n=84). The SF-36 short questionnaire was used as the measurement instrument. Clinically significant fatigue problems were operationalized as a score ≤35 on the vitality scale of this questionnaire. The evaluation showed higher fatigue scores in the study group compared to the control group (p<0.05). In addition, the SLE subgroup was found to have the most fatigue problems compared to the other patient subpopulations (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between CLE, ADM, and AIBD. Furthermore, the overall patient population had a higher proportion of clinically significant fatigue symptoms compared to the (SLE: 44.2%, CLE: 25.2%, ADM: 31.6%, AIBD: 24.1% vs. Control group: 2%; p<0.01). There was a higher proportion of clinically significant fatigue problems in the SLE subgroup than in the CLE group (p<0.01), but there were no significant differences in this regard between SLE and ADM or AIBD.
Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjd.17962, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.17257, British Journal of Dermatology 2019; 180: 1468-1472.
DERMATOLOGIE PRAXIS 2019; 29(4): 44
