PO:03:078 Fatigue, depression and cognitive impairment – is this relevant for cutaneous lupus patients?

Objectives Cognitive dysfunction and fatigue are common manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), yet they are rarely assessed systematically in clinical routine. While fatigue has been extensively studied in SLE, little is known about its prevalence and characteristics in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence and severity of fatigue in patients with different CLE subtypes and to explore possible associations with clinical parameters, autoantibody status, and interferon (IFN) signature expression.<FILE IMAGE=’445_20251026130700.jpg’&gt Methods A total of 47 patients with cutaneous lupus, including chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (CDLE; n= 11), subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE; n=11), lupus tumidus (n=7), chilblain lupus (n=8), and mixed connective tissue disease (n=1), as well as 9 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), were included. Additionally, 12 healthy controls were recruited. The cohort comprised 37 females and 10 males. Antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity was present in 68,1% of patients. Fatigue was quantified using the FACIT-Fatigue questionnaire. IFN signature was measured in PBMC. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed across diagnostic subgroups.Results Severe fatigue (FACIT<30) was common among CLE patients (40,4%, 19/47). Patients with SCLE and lupus tumidus reported the highest fatigue scores (SCLE: 26,9 ± 13,64, tumidus: 27,0 ± 9,98). Interestingly although not significant, ANA-negative CLE patients demonstrated higher fatigue scores compared to ANA-positive patients (p = 0,06). No significant correlation was observed between the IFN signature and fatigue severity. Female patients were more frequently affected by severe fatigue (40%) compared to males (14,3%). There were no significant differences in fatigue levels between patients receiving systemic therapy and those without treatment, although some reported subjective improvement of fatigue after initiation of systemic therapy.Abstract PO:03:078 Figure 1Conclusions Fatigue is highly prevalent among patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus and occurs independently of systemic disease activity or interferon signature expression. Cognitive impairment appears uncommon in this cohort. Fatigue remains a complex and multifactorial symptom that substantially affects patients’ quality of life and warrants systematic assessment and targeted management strategies in clinical practice.