The correlations of psychological status, quality of life, self-esteem, social support and body image disturbance in Chinese patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

This study aimed (i) to complement existing research by focusing on body image disturbance issues in Chinese Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients; (ii) to investigate how Chinese patients make sense of disease diagnosis and perceived cultural influences within the context of their SLE. A total of 118 SLE patients underwent standardized laboratory examinations and completed several questionnaires. Independent sample t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, Chi-square test, and multivariate analysis using backward stepwise logistic regression model were used to analyze these data. We found 18.3% SLE patients had BID, which were significantly higher than the control group (.8%). SLE patients are more concerned about their physical changes caused by disease. There were significant correlations among personal health insurance, complication of diabetes, appearance of new rash, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and BID in patients with SLE. Meanwhile, logistic regression analysis revealed that appearance of new rash and high anxiety were significantly associated with BID in SLE patients. In conclusion, it is beneficial to pay attention to the physical and mental health of patients with rheumatic disease from the perspective of body image, to understand their needs and to provide effective and effective service for them.

Keywords:

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• body image disturbance (BID)
• self-esteem
• social support
• anxiety