Fatigue and Pain Measurements in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by heterogeneous clinical manifestations involving multiple organ systems. Fatigue and pain are two of the most prevalent and debilitating health complaints that negatively impact the health-related quality of life of SLE patients. Yet both fatigue and pain are difficult to clinically quantify, and significant heterogeneity exists among clinical studies with the utilization of different instruments for measuring fatigue and pain in SLE. This chapter describes the content and measurement properties of the most commonly administered instruments for evaluating fatigue and pain as well as reviews the disease-specific and patient-reported factors associated with fatigue and pain in the context of SLE disease.