Pulmonary function, functional capacity and physical activity in patients with SLE: a cross-sectional study
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- 2Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Institute of Graduate Studies, Istanbul, Turkey
- 3Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Istanbul Yeni Yuzyil University, Istanbul, Turkey
- 4Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Istanbul Kent University, Istanbul, Turkey
- 5Internal Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: SLE is a chronic autoimmune disease. This study aimed to compare pulmonary function, maximal ventilatory capacity assessed by maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), functional capacity, physical activity level, sleep quality and fatigue between patients with SLE and healthy controls.
Methods: Respiratory function was assessed using spirometer. Functional capacity was evaluated with the 6-min walk test (6MWT), physical activity with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS).
Results: The cross-sectional study included 25 patients with SLE (21 women, 4 men; mean age 37.00±11.44 years) and 25 healthy controls (20 women, 5 men; mean age 32.24±5.86 years). Groups were similar in age and sex. Compared with healthy controls, patients with SLE had significantly lower forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.03), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (p=0.01) and MVV (p<0.001). The 6MWT distance and GPAQ total score were also reduced (p<0.01). No differences were observed for FEV₁/FVC ratio (p=0.75), peak expiratory flow (p=0.32), PSQI (p=0.27) or FSS (p=0.26). In patients with SLE, MVV showed a moderate negative correlation with disease duration (r=−0.585) and a moderate positive correlation with exercise capacity (r=0.618). FEV₁ showed a borderline positive association with exercise capacity (r=0.384).
Conclusions: Pulmonary function, exercise capacity and physical activity levels were reduced in patients with SLE compared with healthy controls. In addition, pulmonary function parameters were associated with disease duration and exercise capacity, highlighting the importance of early evaluation of respiratory function in patients with SLE.
Trial registration number: NCT07193745.
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BibTeX
@article{karaaslan2026pulmonary,
title = {{Pulmonary function, functional capacity and physical activity in patients with SLE: a cross-sectional study}},
author = {Tugba Civi Karaaslan and Zelal Apaydın and Melis Usul and Serdal Ugurlu and Ela Tarakcı},
journal = {Lupus Science \& Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1136/lupus-2026-002284},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2026-002284},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pulmonary function, functional capacity and physical activity in patients with SLE: a cross-sectional study
AU - Tugba Civi Karaaslan
AU - Zelal Apaydın
AU - Melis Usul
AU - Serdal Ugurlu
AU - Ela Tarakcı
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - Lupus Science & Medicine
DO - 10.1136/lupus-2026-002284
UR - https://doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2026-002284
AB - Objective: SLE is a chronic autoimmune disease. This study aimed to compare pulmonary function, maximal ventilatory capacity assessed by maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), functional capacity, physical activity level, sleep quality and fatigue between patients with SLE and healthy controls. Methods: Respiratory function was assessed using spirometer. Functional capacity was evaluated with the 6-min walk test (6MWT), physical activity with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and fatigue with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Results: The cross-sectional study included 25 patients with SLE (21 women, 4 men; mean age 37.00±11.44 years) and 25 healthy controls (20 women, 5 men; mean age 32.24±5.86 years). Groups were similar in age and sex. Compared with healthy controls, patients with SLE had significantly lower forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.03), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (p=0.01) and MVV (p<0.001). The 6MWT distance and GPAQ total score were also reduced (p<0.01). No differences were observed for FEV₁/FVC ratio (p=0.75), peak expiratory flow (p=0.32), PSQI (p=0.27) or FSS (p=0.26). In patients with SLE, MVV showed a moderate negative correlation with disease duration (r=−0.585) and a moderate positive correlation with exercise capacity (r=0.618). FEV₁ showed a borderline positive association with exercise capacity (r=0.384). Conclusions: Pulmonary function, exercise capacity and physical activity levels were reduced in patients with SLE compared with healthy controls. In addition, pulmonary function parameters were associated with disease duration and exercise capacity, highlighting the importance of early evaluation of respiratory function in patients with SLE. Trial registration number: NCT07193745.
SN - 2053-8790
ER -