Outcomes for Individuals with SLE following COVID Infection
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Outcomes for Individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Incidence of New SLE post Infection.
IRAS ID
309413
Contact name
Sinead Brophy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Swansea University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt by most people across the world. However, the risk of health consequences was feared to be much more severe for people with pre-existing health conditions. As a result, people with a variety of conditions were advised to be extra cautious and shield during the height of the pandemic.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare autoimmune, multisystem chronic inflammatory disease that can affect organs, including skin, joints, kidneys, lungs and the nervous system. It is expected that people with SLE are highly vulnerable to severe outcomes of COVID-19 due to the immunosuppressive medications and biologics used to treat the condition.
OpenSafely will be used to conduct retrospective cohort studies in England, to compliment work currently ongoing in the SAIL databank. Patient data from between 1st March 2020 and 31st December 2021 will be used.
We aim to answer questions such as:
1. What is the risk of contracting SLE for individuals with SLE versus those without SLE?2.Do people with SLE experience the same outcomes after a COVID infection and do they experience these at the same rate as those without SLE after COVID infection?
3.Is the incidence of SLE diagnosis higher after COVID (2020-2022) than before COVID (2018-2019).
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0173
Date of REC Opinion
22 Aug 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion