Factors associated with non-adherence to medications in systemic lupus erythematosus: Results from a Swedish survey.

OBJECTIVE: To identify determinants of medication non-adherence in a Swedish population of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Patients with SLE from Karolinska and Örebro University Hospitals participated in a survey-based cross-sectional study. Demographics, disease activity, organ damage, HRQoL (LupusQol, EQ-5D-5 L), medication non-adherence (<80% on CQR-19 or MASRI) and beliefs about medicines (BMQ) were registered. MASRI was used to report adherence to different drugs/drug classes, categorised into (i) antimalarial agents (AMA), (ii) glucocorticoids and (iii) other SLE medications. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, disease activity and organ damage. RESULTS: Among 205 respondents, the median age was 52.0 years (IQR: 34.0-70.0), 86.3% were women, 66.8% were non-adherent to their medications according to CQR-19, and 6.6% and 6.3% were non-adherent to AMA and glucocorticoids, respectively, according to MASRI. Positive beliefs about glucocorticoids (OR; 95% CI: 0.77; 0.59-0.99; p = .039) and medications overall (0.71; 0.52-0.97; p = .029) were protective against non-adherence to glucocorticoids. Anxiety/depression (3.09; 1.12-8.54; p = .029), medication concerns (1.12; 1.05-1.20; p < .001) and belief that medications are overused (1.30; 1.15-1.46; p < .001) or harmful (1.36; 1.19-1.56; p < .001) were associated with medication non-adherence (CQR-19); beliefs in the necessity of medications (0.73; 0.65-0.82; p < .001) and positive beliefs in medications were protective (0.72; 0.60-0.86; p < .001). No associations were found between other investigated factors and medication non-adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Beliefs about medications were a major determinant of medication non-adherence. Patient education may help alleviate the negative impact of misinformation/unawareness on adherence.

EULAR recommendations for the non-pharmacological management of systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To develop evidence-based recommendations for the non-pharmacological management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: A task force comprising 7 rheumatologists, 15 other healthcare professionals and 3 patients was established. Following a systematic literature review performed to inform the recommendations, statements were formulated, discussed during online meetings and graded based on risk of bias assessment, level of evidence (LoE) and strength of recommendation (SoR; scale A-D, A comprising consistent LoE 1 studies, D comprising LoE 4 or inconsistent studies), following the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology standard operating procedure. Level of agreement (LoA; scale 0-10, 0 denoting complete disagreement, 10 denoting complete agreement) was determined for each statement through online voting. RESULTS: Four overarching principles and 12 recommendations were developed. These concerned common and disease-specific aspects of non-pharmacological management. SoR ranged from A to D. The mean LoA with the overarching principles and recommendations ranged from 8.4 to 9.7. Briefly, non-pharmacological management of SLE and SSc should be tailored, person-centred and participatory. It is not intended to preclude but rather complement pharmacotherapy. Patients should be offered education and support for physical exercise, smoking cessation and avoidance of cold exposure. Photoprotection and psychosocial interventions are important for SLE patients, while mouth and hand exercises are important in SSc. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations will guide healthcare professionals and patients towards a holistic and personalised management of SLE and SSc. Research and educational agendas were developed to address needs towards a higher evidence level, enhancement of clinician-patient communication and improved outcomes.

EQ-5D full health state after therapy heralds reduced hazard to accrue subsequent organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To investigate whether self-reported EQ-5D full health state (FHS) after therapeutic intervention for active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with a reduced risk to accrue organ damage. In a separate analysis, we sought to investigate associations between experience of "no problems" in each one of the five dimensions of EQ-5D and the risk to accrue damage. Methods: Data from the open-label extension periods of the BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 trials of belimumab in SLE (NCT00724867; NCT00712933) were used (N = 973). FHS was defined as an experience of "no problems" in all five EQ-5D dimensions. Organ damage was assessed annually using the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Damage Index (SDI). Associations between the three-level version of the EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L) responses at open-label baseline and the first documented increase in organ damage were investigated using Cox regression accounting for age, sex, ancestry, SDI at baseline, and background therapy, and associations with SDI items were investigated using phi (φ) correlation analyses. Results: A total of 147 patients (15.1%) accrued organ damage during follow-up, with the first increase in their SDI score occurring after a mean time of 29.1 ± 19.6 months. Lower proportions of FHS respondents accrued damage over a course of up to 7.9 years of open-label follow-up compared with no FHS respondents (p = 0.004; derived from the logrank test). FHS was associated with a reduced hazard to accrue subsequent organ damage (HR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.38-0.96; p = 0.033) after adjustments, as was experience of "no problems" in mobility (HR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.43-0.87; p = 0.006). "No problems" in mobility was negatively correlated with musculoskeletal damage accrual (φ = -0.08; p = 0.008) and associated with a lower hazard to accrue musculoskeletal damage in Cox regression analysis (HR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.19-0.76; p = 0.006). Conclusion: Experience of EQ-5D-3L FHS and "no problems" in mobility after therapeutic intervention heralded reduced hazard to accrue subsequent organ damage, especially musculoskeletal damage, suggesting that optimisation of these health-related quality of life aspects constitutes a clinically relevant treatment target in patients with SLE, along with clinical and laboratory parameters.