Background and aims The many manifestations of Lupus can jeopardise aspects of daily living in those with the disease. The aim of this study was to synthesise findings of primary and secondary studies that had investigated the psychosocial impacts that living with Lupus has on people.

Methods Integrative review methodology assists extraction of data from primary research and other secondary studies, to enable new or re-conceptualisation of knowledge around a topic. A systematic process of searching CINHAL, Medline and other databases resulted in 91 papers that met the inclusion and critical appraisal criteria. Findings were qualitatively coded and themed and narratively described.

Results The research revealed that people find that ‘Lupus is a scary disease’ and that living with the disease has ‘psychosocial impacts’. Three key features of the scary disease were: ‘it takes time to be diagnosed’, ‘living with the variations in clinical manifestations’ and ‘the uncertainty of where lupus may take their lives’. Living with the ‘psychosocial impacts of lupus’ revealed the categories: ‘living with physical dysfunction and daily impediments’; ‘dealing with stress, depression and anxiety’ and ‘impacts on personal and work relations and situations’.

Conclusions Synthesised findings about a life lived with lupus revealed the important features of ‘lupus as a scary disease’ and ‘psychosocial impacts of lupus’. This generation of concepts informs nurses other health professionals, and is likely to assist future provision of Lupus health education and person-centred care.