Table 1.
Clinical and demographic characteristics of SSc patients and healthy controls: cross-sectional analysis.
| Parameters | SSc patients (n = 92) | Healthy controls (n = 92) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex: female/male, n (%) | 79 (86)/13 (14) | 79 (86)/13 (14) | 1.000 |
| Age, median (IQR) (years) | 55.0 (45.0–60.5) | 51.0 (44.0–61.0) | 0.806 |
| Disease duration, median (IQR) (years) | 4.0 (1.3–8.0) | ||
| SSc subtype: dcSSc/lcSSc, n (%) | 38 (41)/54 (59) | ||
| ANA positivity, n (%) | 85 (92) | ||
| ACA positivity, n (%) | 16 (17) | ||
| Anti-Scl70 positivity, n (%) | 41 (45) | ||
| Raynaud’s phenomenon, n (%) | 91 (99) | ||
| Gastrointestinal involvement, n (%) | 55 (60) | ||
| Arthralgia and/or arthritis, n (%) | 33 (30) | ||
| Interstitial lung disease, n (%) | 58 (63) | ||
| Pulmonary arterial hypertension, n (%) | 19 (21) | ||
| Cardiac involvement, n (%) | 16 (17) | ||
| Renal involvement, n (%) | 3 (3) | ||
| Digital ulcers, n (%) | 24 (26) | ||
| CRP, median (IQR) (mg/L) | 3.2 (1.6–6.5) | ||
| ESR, median (IQR) (mm/h) | 13.5 (9.0–28.0) | ||
| mRSS median (IQR) | 10.0 (5.0–19.0) | ||
| ESSG activity score median (IQR) | 3.3 (2.0–4.0) | ||
| FVC, median (IQR) % predicted | 76.0 (62.8–100.4) | ||
| FEV1, median (IQR) % predicted | 72.4 (59.9–94.5) | ||
| DLCO, median (IQR) % predicted | 61.5 (46.2–75.5) | ||
| SpO2, median (IQR) % | 96.0 (94.0–97.0) | ||
| Current treatment: GC/MTX/CPA/AZA/MMF, n (%) | 48 (44)/10 (9)/4 (4)/4 (4)/1 (1) |
SSc systemic sclerosis, lcSSc limited cutaneous SSc, dcSSc diffuse cutaneous SSc, IQR interquartile range, ANA antinuclear antibodies, Anti-Scl-70 anti–DNA-topoisomerase I antibodies, ACA anticentromere antibodies, ESSG European Scleroderma Study Group, mRSS modified Rodnan skin score, CRP C-reactive protein, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, FVC forced vital capacity, FEV1 forced expiratory volume in 1 s, DLCO diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, SpO2 blood oxygen saturation level, GC low dose glucocorticoids (i.e. ≤ 10 mg/day of prednisone), MTX methotrexate, CPA cyclophosphamide, AZA azathioprine, MMF mycophenolate mofetil.