Life satisfaction together with positive and negative aspects in Polish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

PURPOSE: To determinate satisfaction with life together with positive and negative emotions in SLE patients and correlate them with each other and with activity of the disease, duration of the disease and age of the patient. METHODS: The study was conducted on 83 SLE patients who fulfilled at least 4 out of 11 ACR criteria. Satisfaction with life was measured by the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Positive and negative aspects were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affects Schedule. Other data were collected from the patients at the same time. RESULTS: SLE patients presented reduced satisfaction with life. Duration of the disease, as well as age of the patients had an influence on it. Correlations between patients' quality of life emotions and life's satisfaction were present. CONCLUSIONS: SLE as a chronic, incurable and unpredictable disease has a great influence on patients' life. The awareness of this may lead to better compliance and to develop a new strategy of therapy.