Controlling stress helps fight lupus

GRANADA, Spain, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Reducing stress in those with lupus decreases some symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, fever, pain and joint inflammation, says a Spanish study.

University of Granada researchers found patients who received psychological therapy significantly reduced their levels of stress -- daily stress which occurs in circumstances of little importance but of high frequency -- had reduced levels of anxiety and depression, achieving even lower stress levels than those of the general population.

Dr. Nuria Navarrete Navarrete, Juan Jimenez Alonso and Maria Isabel Peralta Ramirez applied a therapy to fight stress in a group of 45 patients suffering from lupus to teach them how to manage their stress and reduce the negative effects of lupus.

The researchers found that the lupus patients who received the therapy significantly improved their quality of life both at a physical and psychological level and presented fewer skin and muscular skeletal symptoms, which usually appear in patients suffering from lupus, according to the study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.