Table 1.
Baseline characteristics at first visit of 3148 African-American and Caucasian systemic sclerosis patients seen between 1972–2007.
| Features | African-American (n=203) | Caucasian (n=2945) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (% female) | 155 (76%) | 2374 (81%) | NS |
| High school or higher education (%) | 105 (52%) | 1698 (58%) | NS |
| Residence within 100 miles of Pittsburgh | 133 (66%) | 1428 (48%) | <0.0001 |
| Mean age at symptom onset (SD) | 38.4 ± 14.3 | 42.9 ± 14.9 | <0.001 |
| Mean age at first visit (SD) | 44.8 ± 12.3 | 50.6 ± 14.1 | <0.001 |
| Disease duration, defined as onset to first visit in years (IQR) | 2.97 (1.27, 8.04) | 3.46 (1.64, 10.84) | NS |
| Tobacco Use | 0.002 | ||
| Never | 107 | 1618 | |
| Prior | 44 | 827 | |
| Current | 52 | 482 | |
| Diffuse cutaneous involvement (%) | 102(51%) | 1264 (43%) | 0.03 |
| Overlap syndrome w with another connective tissue disease (%) | 32 (16%) | 237 (8%) | 0.0002 |
| Mean Body Mass Index (SD) | 24.1 ± 4.9 | 24.1 ± 4.9 | NS |
| Autoantibodies | |||
| Anti-centromere | 14 (7%) | 45 (22%) | <0.0001 |
| Anti-topoisomerase I | 26 (25%) | 530 (18%) | 0.01 |
| Anti-RNA polymerase III | 20 (10%) | 619 (21%) | 0.001 |
| Anti-U1-RNP | 27 (13%) | 12 (4%) | <0.0001 |
| Anti-U3-RNP | 33 (16%) | 6 (2%) | <0.0001 |
| Anti-Th/To | 7 (3%) | 18 (6%) | NS |
| HAQ disability index (median, IQR)* | 1.33 (0.50, 1.81) | 0.86 (0.30, 1.38) | 0.01 |
*
HAQ available in 23% of African-American and Caucasian patients