Perceived illness stigma is associated with depression in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives: 1) To assess the prevalence of depression in a sample of female patients with systemic lupus etythematosus (SLE) 2) To evaluate the association between perceived illness stigma and depression in those patients. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 80 female SLE patients were evaluated for the presence of depression and perceived illness stigma. Depression was diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders, clinical version (SCID-I-CV), the severity of the depressive symptoms was evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression Subscale (HADS-D), and the stigma of illness was assessed using the Stigma Impact Scale (SIS). Results: The prevalence of depression among female SLE patients was 18.75\% (15/80). The perceived illness stigma was higher among the depressed group than among the non-depressed group (SIS mean scores were 43.87 +/- 7.87 and 26.62 +/- 3.79 respectively P<.001), there was a significant positive correlation between SIS and HAD-D scores (r=0.73, P=.002), and there was a significant association between perceived illness stigma and diagnosis of depression (R-2=0.53, P=.002, odds ratio=-32), which increased the severity of depressive symptoms (R-2=0.64, P<.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrates a significant association between illness stigma and depression in female SLE patients which may be important in promoting optimal coping for these women. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.