Objective. In the last decade, the biopsychosocial approach has been applied to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to understand the multiple factors involved in the disease course. This study examined the link between stress and changes in functional disability as assessed by the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) in women with SLE. Methods. Forty-two women with SLE were assessed at baseline and 8 months later. Major stress (Life Events), minor stressors (Hassles), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), disease activity (Systemic Lupus Activity Measure), and functional disability were collected at both time points, while demographic and disease damage variables (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index) were collected once at baseline. Results. Mean HAQ scores at baseline (0.52) and followup (0.46) indicated mild disability and remained fairly stable, although individual variation was observed (mean change Ϫ0.07; range Ϫ1.25-0.5). Demographic (age, education) and disease (duration, activity, damage) variables were not related to 8-month changes on the HAQ. Of the baseline stress measures, greater negative life events in the preceding 6 months was correlated with reduced functional ability (r ϭ 0.42) 8 months later. Individual changes in depressed mood over the 8-month period were correlated (r ϭ 0.33) with changes in functional ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that after controlling for baseline HAQ scores and changes in depressed mood, baseline negative life events remained a significant predictor of changes in functional ability. Conclusion. We found that the major short-term determinants of functional disability were not demographic-or disease-related factors, but rather stress caused by negative life events. Comprehensive treatment of SLE requires management of life stress.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> In critically ill patients requiring intermittent renal replacement therapy (RRT), the benefits of convective versus diffusive clearance remain uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the safety, clinical efficacy, and clearance efficiency of hemofiltration (HF) and hemodiafiltration (HDF) compared to hemodialysis (HD) in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) receiving intermittent RRT. <b><i>Method:</i></b> We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PROSPERO. We included clinical trials and observational studies that reported the use of intermittent HF or HDF in adult patients with AKI. The following outcomes were included: mortality, renal recovery, clearance efficacy, intradialytic hemodynamic stability, circuit loss, and inflammation modulation. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 3,169 studies were retrieved and screened. Four randomized controlled trials and 4 observational studies were included (<i>n</i>: 615 patients). Compared with conventional HD, intermittent convective therapies had no effect on in-hospital mortality (relative risk, 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.76–1.99), renal recovery at 30 days (RR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.82–1.16), time-to-renal recovery (mean difference [MD], 0.77; 95% CI, −6.56 to 8.10), and number of dialysis sessions until renal recovery (MD, −1.34; 95% CI, −3.39 to 0.72). The overall quality of included studies was low, and dialysis parameters were suboptimal for all included studies. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This meta-analysis suggests that there is no significant difference in short-term mortality and renal recovery in patients with severe AKI when treated with intermittent HF or HDF compared to conventional HD. This systematic review emphasizes the need for further trials evaluating optimal convective parameters in AKI patients treated with intermittent dialysis.