August 3 : A new study has found that reducing stress in people suffering from lupus decreases some symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, fever, pain and joint inflammation.

This study, carried out by Dr. Nuria Navarrete Navarrete and led by researchers Juan Jimenez Alonso and María Isabel Peralta Ramirez of University of Granada, intended to check the effects of stress treatment in patients suffering from lupus and with high levels of stress. A team of psychologists applied a therapy to fight stress in a group of 45 patients suffering from lupus to teach them how to manage their stress to decrease the negative effects of this disease.

The researchers found that patients who received psychological therapy considerably reduced their levels of stress, daily stress which occurs in circumstances of little importance but of high frequency, had reduced levels of anxiety and depression, achieving even lower stress levels than those of the general population.

In addition, they significantly improved their quality of life both at a physical and psychological level and presented fewer skin and muscular skeletal symptoms, which usually appear in patients suffering from lupus.

The results of this study underlined the significance of dealing appropriately with patients suffering from lupus and, by extension, from other chronic diseases.

“According to our results, attention on other psychological aspects is essential to achieve an effective global treatment of the patient”, says Navarrete.

In other words, the treatment of daily stress, together with the standard pharmacological treatment, is an effective weapon when treating patients suffering from lupus.

“We think that this treatment could be useful from the moment in which the disease is diagnosed, as patients may require help to manage their stress and minimise its negative effects,” says researcher Navarrete.

Part of the results of the study is published in the renowned journals “Psychosomatic Medicine” and “Revista Clinica Espanola”. (ANI)

Tags:lupus