POS0176 ACCESS TO MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND SPECIALISED LUPUS NURSES ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER PREVALENCE OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS IN EUROPEAN LUPUS PATIENTS
Authors: Z. Karakikla-Mitsakou, A. Cornet, F. Crisafulli
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can sometimes be accompanied by a significant psychological burden, particularly anxiety and depression, which can be detrimental to patients' quality of life and can complicate disease management [1]. Prior research has indicated a bidirectional relationship between SLE pathophysiology and psychological comorbidities, advocating for comprehensive care [2]. <h3>Objectives:</h3> To quantify the influence of multidisciplinary care access, including access to lupus nurses, on the mental wellbeing and prevalence of self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms of SLE patients within Europe across diverse healthcare systems. <h3>Methods:</h3> Results from Lupus Europe's "Living With Lupus in 2020" survey [3] were analysed to assess the existence of any correlation between the degree to which the patients felt they had appropriate access to multidisciplinary care and/or to specialised lupus nurses, and the prevalence of self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms as features of their lupus. Comparative analysis was employed to evaluate the relationship between healthcare access and the incidence of anxiety and depression, using logistic regression models to control for potential confounders, such as demographics and disease severity. <h3>Results:</h3> Data from 3,586 respondents revealed that patients that 'Agree' or 'Strongly agree' that they have access to multidisciplinary teams reported anxiety and depression symptoms 9.7% less frequently than those disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with the statement (40.1% vs. 49.8%; p= &lt;.001). Access to specialised lupus nurses showed a similar trend, with a lower frequency of reported anxious and depressive symptomatology (41.0% vs. 48.0%; p= &lt;.001). The results were statistically significant even after adjusting for confounders. <h3>Conclusion:</h3> The findings suggest that access to a multidisciplinary healthcare team and specialised lupus nurses is associated with a lower reported incidence of anxiety and depression among people with SLE. These results indicate that an integrated approach to lupus management, may be beneficial and should be used as one of the ways aimed at reducing the psychological burden of the disease. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Ungprasert P, Sanguankeo A, Upala S, Suksaranjit P. Prevalence of depression and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):70. Published 2017 Mar 21. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1252-1. [2] Moustafa, A. T., Moazzami, M., Engel, L., Bangert, E., Hassanein, M., Marzouk, S.,... &amp; Touma, Z. (2019). Prevalence and metric of depression and anxiety in systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2019.06.017. [3] Cornet A, Andersen J, Myllys K, et al. Living with systemic lupus erythematosus in 2020: a European patient survey. Lupus Science &amp; Medicine 2021;8:e000469. doi:10.1136/ lupus-2020-000469. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> None of the authors has direct conflict of Interest. However, LUPUS EUROPE is funded mostly by grants or donations from Pharmaceutical Companies (Astra Zeneca, Biogen, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Galapagos, GSK, Idorsia, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Otsuka, Roche, UCB), none of which exceeds 20% of total funds collected, and none having a say on the content of our studies.