Background and aims Activity, with erythema and scale of skin, and damage accrual over time, including extensive scarring, dyspigmentation, and alopecia, is often devastating for CLE patients. Recent studies indicate that DLE patients are at increased risk of developing depression, which has been correlated with worsening disease activity, with an estimated over 35% of patients not receiving any care for their mental condition. Study objectives were to better understand unmet need among patients diagnosed with CLE, and to quantify the psychological and mental health implication of patients diagnosed with CLE.

Methods Administrative health insurance claims data from 1/2010-9/2015 were analysed to identify CLE patients, defined as having at least two claims with associated ICD-9-CM as 695.4 that dated 30+ days apart in a one-year period. Patients were followed from the first CLE claim for a minimum of 1 year until disenrollment. Prevalence of depression and anxiety and use of antidepressants and anxiolytics were assessed.

Results 20 794 commercially-insured and 3426 Medicare beneficiaries with CLE were identified (Table 1). Of the commercially-insured, 32.0% were diagnosed with either depression (21.7%) or anxiety (21.3%), and 40.1% filled prescriptions for antidepressants (32.2%) or anxiolytics (24.6%). Findings for Medicare CLE patients were similar (Table 2).

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Abstract 155 Table 1

Patient demographic characteristics.

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Abstract 155 Table 2

Depression and anxiety:prevalence and medicatin use.

Conclusions The clinical burden, along with the psychosocial implications of CLE, pose a large burden on the healthcare system and individual patients. Given the lack of efficacious treatments for active CLE and the high impact of this disease as observed in this current analysis, there is currently a large unmet need for new targeted therapies.