Psychosocial Consequences of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a Study of Patients and Their Spouses Psy-LUP Study

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare chronic autoimmune disease (1/2000 inhabitants) that evolves in periods of recurrent remissions. Sufferers are most often young women of childbearing age. SLE affects the life of a couple like family life (financial, emotional, relational or sexual conditions of the couple). In addition, the disease and its treatments can hinder the possibility of building a family project (pregnancy).

The purpose of the Psy-LUP study is to study the impact of SLE on the social participation of patients, that is to say on their ability to get involved in different areas of daily life. These repercussions could be all the more important as lupus disease is active and complicated by severe diseases such as kidney disease. We want to study how sick people and their loved ones (spouse in particular) think about lupus disease, how it fits into their life history, how people have adapted to this disease, and how it affects their lives. could have on their social participation, their social support, their life of couple. The Psy-LUP study will be carried out in different care services, and by telephone interviews at home, with two main axes: (1) a study by questionnaire with patients (n = 100); (2) a qualitative study through research interviews with patients (n = 40) and their spouses (n = 20). The realization of this project will allow us to evaluate and understand the impact of SLE on the life of the couple and its relational and affective components. In addition, the Psy-LUP study will describe the representations that sick people and their relatives have of lupus disease. All the data collected will make it possible to target interventions with 1) patients and their relatives, in terms of therapeutic education, psychosocial support, support groups (associations); 2) caregivers caring for people with SLE, so that they can integrate the issues of the patient's experience in their care practice and their reflection on therapeutic strategies.