Mood disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus: Results from an international, inception cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency, clinical and autoantibody associations and outcome of mood disorders in a multi-ethnic/racial, prospective, inception cohort of SLE patients. METHODS: Patients were assessed annually for mood disorders (4 types as per DSM-IV) and 18 other neuropsychiatric (NP) events. Global disease activity (SLEDAI-2K), SLICC/ACR damage index (SDI) and SF-36 subscale, mental (MCS) and physical (PCS) component summary scores were collected. Time to event, linear and ordinal regressions and multi-state models were used as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 1,827 SLE patients, 88.9% were female, 48.9% Caucasian, mean±SD age 35.1±13.3 years, disease duration 5.6±4.8 months and follow-up 4.73±3.45 years. Over the study 863 (47.2%) patients had 1,627 NP events. Mood disorders occurred in 232/1827 (12.7%) patients and 98/256 (38.3%) events were attributed to SLE. The estimated cumulative incidence of any mood disorder after 10 years was 17.7% (95%CI=[15.1%,20.2%]). There was a greater risk of mood disorder in patients with concurrent NP events (p≤0.01) and lower risk with Asian race/ethnicity (p=0.01) and immunosuppressive drugs (p=0.003). Mood disorders were associated with lower mental health subscale and MCS scores but not with SLEDAI-2K, SDI scores or lupus autoantibodies. Antidepressants were used in 168/232 (72.4%) patients with depression.126/256 (49.2%) mood disorders resolved in 117/232 (50.4%) patients. CONCLUSION: Mood disorders, the second most frequent NP event in SLE patients, have a negative impact on HRQoL and improve over time. The lack of association with global SLE disease activity, cumulative organ damage and lupus autoantibodies emphasize their multifactorial etiology and a role for non-lupus specific therapies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.