The Relationship of Lifestyle with Disease Activity among Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Descriptive-Correlational Study

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship of lifestyle with disease activity among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was conducted in 2019 on 209 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Data were collected using a demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and the systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity Index. The data were analysed through the mixed model and the logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: In total, 67.5% of participants had active disease. The mean score of lifestyle was 2.49±0.30 and the lowest and the highest lifestyle dimensional mean scores were respectively related to the physical activity and the health responsibility dimensions (1.55±0.60 and 3.25±0.45). The analysis showed that each one point increase in the mean score of lifestyle was associated with 0.79 point decrease in the odds of disease activity (P = 0.006). Moreover, disease activity had significant positive relationship with body mass index (P = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Interventions for promoting lifestyle among these patients and improving healthcare providers’ knowledge about Systemic lupus erythematosus and lifestyle modification are recommended to reduce disease activity.