Associations between clinical status questionnaire scores and formal education level in persons with systemic lupus erythematosus.

In a study of 124 systemic lupus erythematosus patients, clinical status, according to 5 questionnaire scales, was poorer in patients with less than or equal to 11 years versus those with greater than or equal to 12 years of formal education. These results were statistically significant when adjusted for age, race, sex, and disease duration, though results on some scales were not significant when adjusted for multiple comparisons. These findings further support observations that formal education level is associated with clinical status in rheumatic and other chronic diseases.