Table 3.
Clinical manifestations of African American patients with AFA compared to those without AFA (adjusted for disease duration)
| AFA positive (n=50) | AFA negative (n=221) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age*, mean (±SD), yr | 41.7 (13.31) | 47.9 (13.25) | −6.29 (−10.59, −1.99)** | 0.004 |
| Gender*, Female, % | 86.0 | 84.6 | 0.89 (0.31, 2.24) | 0.806 |
| Cutaneous involvement*, diffuse, % | 36.0 | 39.5 | 0.86 (0.43, 1.69) | 0.642 |
| Disease duration at enrollment* | 5.34 (5.14) | 6.28 (6.85) | −0.93 (−3.51, 1.64)** | 0.475 |
| Deceased, % | 30.0 | 29.5 | 0.99 (0.47, 2.03) | 0.892 |
| MRSS†, mean (±SD) | 14.31 (7.62) | 17.83 (13.50) | −2.55 (−9.66, 4.54)** | 0.476 |
| Digital ulcer, % | 79.3 | 53.8 | 3.31 (1.27, 8.62) | 0.014 |
| Dysphagia, % | 60.0 | 54.8 | 1.24 (0.49, 3.19) | 0.619 |
| Diarrhea, % | 53.9 | 19.2 | 4.84 (1.29, 18.13 ) | 0.019 |
| Pericarditis, % | 28.2 | 12.8 | 2.45 (0.86, 6.93) | 0.092 |
| PAH‡, % | 10.0 | 22.4 | 0.38 (0.09, 1.19) | 0.081 |
| SSc interstitial lung fibrosis,% | 28.2 | 47.3 | 0.65 (0.28, 1.52) | 0.322 |
| FVC % predicted, mean (±SD) | 77.8 (17.7) | 72.9 (23.2) | 6.08 (−4.54, 16.69)** | 0.259 |
| DLCO % predicted, mean (±SD) | 67.7 (17.2) | 57.9 (24.6) | 9.45 (−2.24, 21.14)** | 0.112 |
| SSc renal crisis, % | 10.5 | 8.4 | 1.28 (0.28, 4.54) | 0.921 |
| Myositis or muscle weakness, % | 30.0 | 40.6 | 1.05 (0.21, 5.28) | 0.953 |
| Elevated serum CK | 28.6 | 30.9 | 0.88 (0.31, 2.54) | 0.817 |
| Arthritis, % | 21.9 | 31.0 | 0.53 (0.13, 2.13) | 0.370 |
| Joint contracture | 22.9 | 21.4 | 1.44 (0.56, 3.72) | 0.447 |
| Sicca§ symptoms | 20.0 | 28.1 | 0.64 (0.11, 3.69) | 0.621 |
| Medsger Severity Index, mean(±SD) | ||||
| General | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.06 (−0.53, 0.64)** | 0.838 |
| Peripheral vascular | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.79 (0.27, 1.30)** | 0.003 |
| Skin | 1.5 | 1.7 | −0.27 (−0.84, 0.31)** | 0.361 |
| Joint | 0.8 | 0.9 | −0.09 (−0.92, 0.73)** | 0.813 |
| Muscle | 0.2 | 0.3 | −0.10 (−0.41, 0.21)** | 0.521 |
| GI Tract | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.02 (−0.43, 0.39)** | 0.935 |
| Lung | 1.1 | 1.9 | −0.82 (−1.50, −0.14)** | 0.019 |
| Heart | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.16 (−0.27, 0.58)** | 0.457 |
| Kidney | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.19 (−0.68, 0.29)** | 0.441 |
*
These comparisons were not adjusted for disease duration. Student’s t-test and χ2 were utilized for comparisons, accordingly.
**
numbers indicate the mean differences.
†
modified Rodnan Skin Score,
‡
PAH: pulmonary artery hypertension,
§
having two of three symptoms of dry mouth, dry eye and/or enlarged parotid.