Table 1.
Demographics of SSc cases stratified by calendar time
| 1995–2001 | 2002–2008 | 2009–2015 | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 830 | 887 | 1061 | |
| Mean age | 53.7 (15.6) | 55.0 (15.3) | 56.1 (15.5) | 0.0008 |
| Women | 652 (79%) | 687 (77%) | 775 (73%) | 0.01 |
| Immigrants | 56 (7%) | 50 (6%) | 86 (8%) | 0.20 |
| Cancer | 48 (6%) | 51 (6%) | 101 (10%) | 0.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 12 (1%) | 21 (2%) | 48 (5%) | 0.0002 |
| Treated hypertension (defined as at least 2 antihypertensive agents) | 132 (16%) | 264 (30%) | 471 (44%) | < 0.0001 |
| Diabetes | 25 (3%) | 53 (6%) | 61 (6%) | 0.007 |
| Upper gastrointestinal ulcer | 47 (6%) | 62 (7%) | 83 (8%) | 0.18 |
| Renal disease | 18 (2%) | 18 (2%) | 40 (4%) | 0.03 |
| Heart failure | 24 (3%) | 26 (3%) | 34 (3%) | 0.91 |
| Prior acute myocardial infarction | 28 (3%) | 28 (3%) | 30 (3%) | 0.79 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 34 (4%) | 34 (4%) | 53 (5%) | 0.42 |
| Ischemic stroke | 13 (2%) | 23 (3%) | 33 (3%) | 0.10 |
Footnote: Continuous and categorical variables are presented as mean (standard deviation) and as frequencies (%), respectively. All diagnoses were based on ICD-8 and ICD-10 codes, except for the diabetes mellitus (based on ‘Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical’ codes of antidiabetic medication) and the hypertension diagnosis, which was based on a validated algorithm with use of at least 2 antihypertensive agents [46], Additional file 1