Articles By Kaveh Ardalan, MD

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How Living With Childhood-Onset Lupus Impacts Mental Health

By Kaveh Ardalan, MD

Children, teens, and young adults living with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) require intense immunosuppressive treatments to prevent serious organ damage. By the mid-2010’s, multiple studies were published that showed high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among children and youth with cSLE. Importantly, young adults who were diagnosed with lupus in childhood were more likely than young adults with adult-onset lupus to experience major depression episodes, with a higher risk of recurrent episodes of depression well into adulthood.

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  • Kaveh Ardalan, MD

  • Dr. Ardalan is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Division of Pediatric Rheumatology) at Duke University School of Medicine.  He serves as Co-Leader of the Duke Pediatric Lupus Clinic and also is the Co-Director of the Duke Children’s Myositis Center, which is a Cure JM Foundation Center of Excellence.  His research focuses on: 1) patient-reported outcome measure development & validation in pediatric lupus, myositis, and scleroderma, 2) outcomes research, including the interplay of mental health and cardiovascular health in childhood-onset lupus and juvenile dermatomyositis and health-related quality of life in pediatric scleroderma, and 3) the use of partner-engaged research methods to co-design and iteratively refine health behavior interventions for children, adolescents, and young adults with lupus, dermatomyositis and other rheumatic diseases. He most recently completed the Lupus Erythematosus & Dermatomyositis Stress & Cardiovascular Health (LEADS-CV) study to investigate how psychological stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular health may be associated in patients with juvenile-onset lupus and dermatomyositis.

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