The prevalence of neuropsychiatric syndromes in systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective: To describe the prevalence of neuropsychiatric (NP) syndromes in a Finnish population of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) a nd to classify them according to the recently developed American College of Rheumatology (ACR) nomenclature and case definitions for NPSLE. Methods: C ross-sectional, population-based study covering an area with 440,000 people . A total of 58 patients with a definite diagnosis of SLE and aged 16 to 65 years were found in the computerized database of the area hospitals. Of th ese, 46 (79%) agreed to participate. The diagnosis of various NP syndromes was based on clinical impression (H.A.) following history, examination, rev iew of medical records, and neuropsychologic testing. Results: At least one NP syndrome was identified in 42 patients (91%). The most frequent manifes tation was cognitive dysfunction (n = 37; 81%), followed by headache (n = 2 5; 54%) and mood disorder (n = 20; 43%). When mild NP syndromes (mild cogni tive deficit, headache, mild depression, anxiety, electroneuromyography-neg ative polyneuropathy) were excluded, the prevalence of NPSLE dropped to 46% . Conclusions: According to the ACR nomenclature, there is a high prevalenc e of NP manifestations in a population-based sample of patients with SLE. M ost NP syndromes were classified as minor; if they were excluded, the 46%, prevalence of NPSLE would be slightly less than estimated in previous studi es.