Page 394 - Revue LITAR 2019

274 : IMPACT OF SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ON THE PERCEPTION OF
THE DISEASE IN SJÖRGEN'S SYNDROME

D. Khalifa, A. Guiga, N. Guizani, A. Fraj, A. Bouker, A. Atig, N. Ghannouchi

Department of Internal Medicine, Farhat Hached hospital, Susah, Tunisia

Introduction :
Sjörgen syndrome (SS) is a chronic connective tissue disease affecting various
organs. Little is known regarding the relationship between the social
environment.The objective of this study was to determine the perception of the
disease in patients with Sjörgen syndrome (SS) according to their living
environment.
Matériels et méthodes :
A cross-sectional study collecting 25 patients followed for SS in the department of
internal medicine of Farhat Hached hospital was conducted. Patients were
diagnosed according to the 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criterie for Sjörgen's
syndrome. Perception of the disease was assessed using the Brief Illness Perception
Questionnaire (BPQ). Each question of the BPQ was evaluated from 0 to 10. Results
were analysed with the statistical tool spss.20. The value of p <0.05 was considered
significant.
Résultat :
The SS was primitive in 6 cases. Sicca syndrome was the most frequent symptom
(88% of patients) followed by arthralgia (76% of patients). There was no significant
difference in disease activity between patients living in rural areas and those living
in urban areas. The average of the question related to the impact of the disease on
life was 4.8 for patients living in rural areas and 4.7 for those in urban areas. The
perception of the duration of the disease was better in rural areas with no significant
difference (6.5 rural vs. 8.3 urban). The perception of disease control was good for
both groups. The perception of fear of the disease, the effectiveness of treatments
and the degree of understanding of the disease was similar in both groups. The
perception of symptoms was more frequent in the urban environment (6.3 vs 3.5l,
p = 0.014) as well as the emotional impact of the disease (6.3 urban vs. 2.6 rural, p
= 0.019).
Conclusion :
SS is a chronic disease with symptoms dependent on the social environment of its
patients as symptoms being more important in the urban areas with a general good
perception of the disease.

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