Seasons of the Year and Activity of SLE and Behçet's Disease

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were evaluated using a telephone questionnaire on the activity of various disease manifestations during the seasons of the past year. The results were compared to those of patients with Behçet's disease (BD), using the same questionnaires, and an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of rheumatology 1997, Vol.26 (6), p.435-439
Main Authors: Krause, I., Shraga, I., Molad, Y., Guedj, D., Weinberger, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behcet Syndrome - physiopathology
Behçet's disease
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Humans
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic - physiopathology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pain Measurement
Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis
Seasons
Sunlight
systemic lupus erythematosus
Weather
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Summary:Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were evaluated using a telephone questionnaire on the activity of various disease manifestations during the seasons of the past year. The results were compared to those of patients with Behçet's disease (BD), using the same questionnaires, and analyzed in relation to the mean temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the patient's location, obtained from the official Israeli Meteorological Service. It was found that SLE patients had a tendency towards winter worsening of clinical manifestations, shown as increased incidence of joint pains, weakness, fatigue, Raynaud's phenomenon, and rash, as well as increased number of hospital admissions, sick leaves, and need to raise the dose of medications. The symptoms of patients with BD were not correlated to seasons of the year, except for increased joint pains in autumn and spring. We suggest that UVR accumulation might cause exacerbations in SLE patients several months after prolonged exposure to sunlight in the summer.
ISSN:0300-9742
1502-7732
DOI:10.3109/03009749709065715