Depression is a common companion of systemic lupus erythematosus that substantially contribute to patient's suffering and a decreased quality of life. The relationship between depressive symptoms and disease immune processes is not well understood.

To further understand the relationship between lupus and depression, a patient cohort was examined for correlations between clinical presentation, biological parameters and psychosocial evaluation.

Seventy-two lupus patients were screened for depressive symptoms, clinically and psychologically characterized using a battery of instruments, including assessments for depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain and overall health. Scores from these assessments were correlated with lupus clinical profile and biological parameters namely the immune profile.

Forty-two percent of the patients had scores indicative of depression using the HADS Depression scale. Strong correlation was found between pain and depression. Moderate correlation was found between several lupus symptoms, such as mouth ulcers, rash, and arthritis, and psychological evaluation. There was low to moderate correlation between complement levels, C-reactive protein and psychological indicators, but no other lab tests correlated well with the psychological tests.

The correlation of depressive symptoms, complement and C-reactive protein with depressive symptoms suggests that these may be mediated by disease activity and share pathophysiological mechanisms. The overall weakness of correlations with biological markers demonstrates that more specific tests need to be developed. The study of lupus associated depression may, furthermore clarify the role of immune dysfunction in the pathophysiology of this psychiatric disorder.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.