Impact of multiple sclerosis on quality of life: Comparison with systemic lupus erythematosus

•MS patients scored significantly lower in all categories compared to HC, except for bodily pain.•MS patients experienced significant deterioration in general health, vitality and health perception compared with lupus.•An inverse correlation between EDSS and SF-36 total and subscale scores was observed.•MS is confined to the CNS but it has a systemic functional impact. To report the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) on patients’ quality of life (QoL) compared to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using the 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) health questionnaire in Argentina. Cross-sectional study. All consecutive MS patients, SLE and healthy controls (HC) were included. Demographics, clinical and radiological aspects, EDSS and SF-36 were assessed. A total of 191 subjects were included (MS=74, SLE=30 and HC=87). When we compared, using 2 standard deviations below the normal mean, the SF-36 subscales scores between MS and SLE, we found that MS patients experienced significant deterioration in general health (p