Table 2.
Perceived stress and cognitive symptoms among a cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus patients, August 2011–July 2012, overall and by patient characteristics
| Patient characteristic | N | PSS score,* Mean (SD) | Reported cognitive symptom,**
n (%)
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgetfulness | Difficulty concentrating | |||
| Overall | 777 | 18.0 (8.1) | 324 (41.7%) | 229 (29.5%) |
| Age | ||||
| 18–39 | 252 | 19.2 (8.1) | 110 (43.7%) | 67 (26.6%) |
| 40–59 | 398 | 17.9 (8.0) | 169 (42.5%) | 127 (31.9%) |
| 60+ | 127 | 15.8 (7.8) | 45 (35.4%) | 35 (27.6%) |
| P*** | <0.001 | 0.28 | 0.31 | |
| Race | ||||
| African-American | 624 | 18.2 (8.1) | 263 (42.2%) | 184 (29.5%) |
| White | 153 | 17.3 (8.0) | 61 (39.9%) | 45 (29.4%) |
| P*** | 0.23 | 0.61 | >0.9 | |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 50 | 16.9 (7.6) | 11 (22.0%) | 10 (20.0%) |
| Female | 727 | 18.1 (8.1) | 313 (43.1%) | 219 (30.1%) |
| P*** | 0.33 | 0.003 | <0.001 | |
| Years of education | ||||
| <12 | 71 | 19.8 (6.7) | 33 (46.5%) | 24 (33.8%) |
| 12–15 | 456 | 18.8 (7.9) | 203 (44.5%) | 150 (32.9%) |
| 16+ | 247 | 16.1 (8.4) | 87 (35.2%) | 55 (22.3%) |
| P*** | <0.001 | 0.04 | 0.009 | |
| Employment | ||||
| Employed | 272 | 16.0 (8.3) | 88 (32.4%) | 49 (18.0%) |
| Not employed | 166 | 16.7 (7.8) | 61 (36.8%) | 42 (25.3%) |
| Disabled | 338 | 20.3 (7.4) | 175 (51.8%) | 138 (40.8%) |
| P*** | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Income | ||||
| <$20,000 | 368 | 19.8 (7.4) | 174 (47.3%) | 131 (35.6%) |
| $20–49,999 | 200 | 17.8 (8.0) | 90 (45.0%) | 59 (29.5%) |
| ≥$50,000 | 186 | 15.0 (6.8) | 53 (28.5%) | 36 (19.4%) |
| P*** | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Marital status | ||||
| Never married | 176 | 18.5 (7.9) | 117 (42.4%) | 78 (28.3%) |
| Married | 271 | 16.8 (8.2) | 103 (38.0%) | 69 (25.5%) |
| Separated/divorced/widowed | 230 | 18.9 (7.9) | 104 (45.2%) | 82 (35.7%) |
| P*** | 0.006 | 0.25 | 0.04 | |
| Disease activity**** | ||||
| High | 412 | 21.5 (7.0) | 242 (58.7%) | 187 (45.4%) |
| Low | 365 | 14.0 (7.3) | 82 (22.5%) | 42 (11.5%) |
| P*** | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
*
PSS, Perceived Stress Scale. Score range, 0–40.
**
Forgetfulness, severe/moderate vs. mild/none; difficulty concentrating, all/most vs. some/little/none of the time.
***
By t test, ANOVA, or chi-square test, as appropriate.
****
Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire score (excluding forgetfulness item) ≥15 (high) or <15 (low).