Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants
| Variables | Total sample (n = 180) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (s.d.), years | 51.1 (15.2) | |
| Gender: female, n (%) | 148 (82.2) | |
| Race, n (%) | ||
| White | 122 (67.8) | |
| African-American | 13 (7.2) | |
| Asian | 21 (11.7) | |
| Others | 16 (8.9) | |
| Education, n (%)a | ||
| Less than or equal to high-school graduate | 30 (16.8) | |
| Some college | 62 (34.8) | |
| College graduate | 38 (21.4) | |
| Graduate degree | 86 (48.4) | |
| Type of SSc, n (%)b | ||
| Limited | 90 (50.9) | |
| Diffuse | 71 (40.1) | |
| Overlap | 11 (6.2) | |
| Swollen joint count (0–12) | 0.2 (0.8) | |
| Tender joint count (0–12) | 1.2 (2.4) | |
| Patient global (categorical) | ||
| Excellent/very good | 24 (13.3) | |
| Good | 69 (38.3) | |
| Fair/poor | 87 (48.3) | |
| Pain over past 7 days (0–10) | ||
| Clinical status worsening over past 1 month | ||
| Gastrointestinal symptoms | 72 (40.5) | |
| Skin thickening | 49 (27.2) | |
| Digital ulcers | 62 (34.6) | |
| Dyspnoea | 65 (36.1) | |
| MRSS, mean (s.d.) | 8.8 (8.5) | |
| Physician global assessment (0–10 scale) | 3.6 (2.1) | |
| HRQOL, mean (s.d) | ||
| SF-36 PCS | 38.1 (10.1) | |
| SF-36 MCS | 48.5 (12.3) | |
| HAQ-DI (0–3) | 0.94 (0.67) | |
| CESD (0–30) | 8.4 (5.9) | |
| FACIT-Fatigue (0–52) | 31.9 (12.55) | |
| UCLA SCTC GIT total score (0–3) | 0.55 (0.46) |
aData not available for two patients. bData not available for three patients. A higher score on the SF-36 and FACIT represents better HRQOL; a higher score on the HAQ-DI, CESD, and UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 represents worse HRQOL.