World Lupus Day: how does this disease affect the work performance of Peruvians who suffer from it?

The chronic diseases they affect millions of people in the world, but of all of them, some are considered rare because they occur in a small percentage of the population. The lupus is in this category.

In Peru, the number of people living with this disease is not yet fully known, but it is considered that 50 out of every 100,000 inhabitants have lupus. Most of them are economically active youth and young adults, so fatigue and other symptoms of the disease directly affect their working life.

According to an investigation carried out in our country, the quality of life and fatigue, one of its main symptoms, negatively influence the work performance of these patients.

“Lower quality of life and higher levels of fatigue were associated with a higher percentage of absenteeism (missing work), presenteeism (impaired work productivity due to being sick), and general impairment of work productivity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus ( THEM)”the researchers conclude.

The study, published in the specialized journal Lupusevaluated 133 Peruvian patients from the Almenara Lupus Cohort, between October 2017 and December 2018.

Work productivity was assessed with a validated questionnaire for lupus, in which absenteeism, presenteeism and global labor productivity.

In addition, they measured other factors such as age at diagnosisgender, socioeconomic level, educational level, time of illness, disease activity, disease-related damage, use of medication, quality of life, fatigue, among others.

“Addressing factors related to quality of life and fatigue can have a significant impact on work performance among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus”the authors state.

Among the findings, the experts determined that the Factors associated with higher absenteeism were duration of illness, and poorer quality of life. (in the components of pain, intimate relationships and emotional health), while in greater presenteeism were the components of quality of life related to physical health and fatigue.

Being a incurable illnessone of the goals of treatment for lupus is that people can have a better quality of life, which depends on their being able to access adequate and timely treatment, among other factors.

Researchers from the Peruvian Group for the Study of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases of the Scientific University of the South, of the Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen National Hospital (EsSalud), of the Unit for the Generation and Synthesis of Health Evidence of the San Ignacio de Loyola University participated in the study. , from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.

Source: Elcomercio