Abstract
Objectiveto evaluate alcohol, smoking and/or illicit drug use, and history of bullying in adolescent childhood‐onset systemic lupus erythematosus (c‐SLE) and healthy controls. Methods174 adolescents with pediatric rheumatic diseases were selected. All of the 34 c‐SLE patients and 35 healthy controls participated in this study. A cross‐sectional study included demographic/anthropometric data and puberty markers assessments; structured questionnaire and CRAFFT screening interview. ResultsMcNemar tests indicated an excellent test‐retest reliability of the structured questionnaire (p=1.0). The median current age was similar between c‐SLE patients and controls [15 (12‐18) vs. 15(12‐18) years, p=0.563]. The median of menarche age was significantly higher in c‐SLE patients compared to controls [12 (10‐15) vs. 11.5 (9‐15) years, p=0.041], particularly in those that lupus had occurred before first menstruation [13 (12‐15) vs. 11.5 (9‐15) years, p=0.007]. The other puberty marker and sexual function parameters were similar in both groups (p>0.05). Alcohol use was similar in both c‐SLE patients and controls (38% vs. 46%, p=0.628). A trend of lower frequency of Crafft score ≥ 2 (high risk for substance abuse/dependence) was evidenced in c‐SLE patients compared to controls (0% vs. 15%, p=0.053). Bullying was reported similarly for the two groups (43% vs. 44%, p=0.950). Further analysis in lupus patients regarding alcohol/smoking/illicit drug use showed no differences in demographic data, puberty markers, history of bullying, sexual function, contraceptive use, disease activity/damage scores, clinical/laboratorial features and treatments (p>0.05). ConclusionThis study showed high frequencies of early alcohol use in lupus adolescents and healthy controls, despite of a possible low risk for substance abuse/dependence in c‐SLE patients.
Published Version
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