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Survey: Patients with SLE may be more affected by symptoms than physicians perceive

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Results of a recent survey conducted by GlaxoSmithKline showed many patients with systemic lupus erythematosus have difficulty describing symptoms and may minimize symptoms to physicians.

The survey comprised 905 global respondents from the U.S., Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Italy in 2014, including 200 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 100 caregivers and 75 physicians in the U.S., according to a press release.

Results showed 60% of patients and 63% of physicians agreed patients had difficulty describing their symptoms, and 77% of patients said they only discussed the symptoms that bothered them the most. Additionally, 61% of patients with SLE reported they minimized their symptoms when speaking to their physician.

Physicians reported they believed patients only experience symptoms several times a month, whereas most patients said they experience a number of symptoms daily, according to the release.

“We know from previous research that people living with lupus do not want to burden their physicians and loved ones and so they often downplay the frequency, severity and impact of their symptoms,” Sheri Mullen, vice president of Immunology and Rare Diseases at GSK, said in the release. “This survey shows that there is still more that can be done to give patients the confidence and tools they need to speak up about their lupus and more effectively communicate their support needs.”

Other discrepancies between patients’ and physicians’ perceptions were shown in the survey, as well. For example, physicians were less likely than patients to consider a number of symptoms as severe, including confusion, glaucoma, headache, osteoporosis or decreased sex drive.

Almost two-thirds of patients said SLE had a negative impact on career progression, whereas only 25% of physicians said their patients reported a negative career impact due to disease. Sick days were taken by 62% of patients, but only 34% of physicians believed their patients took sick days from work due to SLE symptoms. Overestimation by family and friends of how much a patient could do was reported by 72% of patients, according to the release.

Seventy-five percent of patients and 72% of caregivers responded SLE poses a financial burden, whereas only 34% of physicians reported that patients shared this information.

Reference: www.gsk.com.