Which stressors are responsible for the worsening in the clinical symptomatology of lupus?

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test which stressors worsen the symptoms perceived by patients with lupus, thus broadening and corroborating results obtained in a previous study published in Psychosomatic Medicine. Methods: In order to examine this question, we selected 43 patients with lupus whose symp-toms worsened due to the effects of daily stress. These patients were divided into two groups: patients whose increase in clinical lupus symp-tomatology was predicted by an increase in daily stressors on the same day (G1) and pa-tients whose increase in clinical lupus symp-tomatology was predicted by an increase in daily stressors the day before and the same day (G2). Later, three factorial analyses were con-ducted with the items related to stressors and the items related to lupic symptoms. Results: The results showed that in G1 there were three factors that made up a total of 35.08% of the explained variance. The stressors associated with certain symptoms of the illness in this group are feeling ill or being worried about their physical appearance, with the main stressor being the illness itself. However, in G2, two factors were found that made up a total of 40.37% of the explained variance for lag=0 and 38.67% for lag=1. The stressors associated with the majority of the lupus symptoms are of an interpersonal and work-related nature. This as-sociation was maintained when we carried out the factorial analyses with the items of the symptoms from the following day. Conclusions: The interpersonal and work-related stressors are related to a worsening in the majority of the lupic symptoms in the patients whose sympto-matology worsens as a result of daily stress experienced the day before.