[Five cases of C. canimorsus during a short period of time at Östersund Hospital, Sweden].

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors related to frailty and determine associations between frailty, depression status, and social support in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

METHODS

Patients with SLE from five tertiary hospitals in Korea completed the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)-Frailty Index (FI), the Patient Health Questionnaires-9 Korean version (PHQ-9K), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaires. Logistic and simple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate factors associated with frailty in patients with SLE and to analyse associations between SLICC-FI, PHQ-9K, and MSPSS scores.

RESULTS

According to SLICC-FI, 36 (14.6%) patients were classified as frail. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.054; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.013-1.097; p=0.009), SDI score (OR: 2.995; 95% CI: 1.940-4.622; p<0.001), and PHQ-9 ≥10 (OR: 7.884; 95% CI: 2.785-22.319; p<0.001) were significant risk factors for frailty in patients with SLE. In simple linear regression analysis, SLICC-FI demonstrated a negative correlation with MSPSS (R2 = 0.06, p≤0.001) but a positive correlation with PHQ-9K (R2 = 0.276, p<0.001). MSPSS showed a negative correlation with PHQ-9K (R2 = 0.147, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Age, SDI score, and depression status were risk factors for frailty in patients with SLE. In addition, lower social support scores were associated with increases of depression status and frailty in patients with SLE. Therefore, active social support may be important for improving depression status and preventing frailty in patients with SLE.