TABLE 1.
Participants’ characteristics and clinical features.
| All | -PAPs | +PAPs | p-value | |
| Personal characteristics | ||||
| N | 39 | 19 | 20 | – |
| Sex (M/F) | 9/30 | 4/15 | 6/14 | – |
| Age (years) | 57 ± 11 | 56 ± 10 | 64 ± 11 | 0.03* |
| SSc subsets (dcSSc/lcSSc) | 6/33 | 3/16 | 3/17 | – |
| Disease duration (years) | 11 ± 8 | 10 ± 8 | 13 ± 9 | 0.17 |
| Controlled arterial hypertension (n) | 4 | 2 | 2 | – |
| Antibodies | ||||
| Anti-Scl-70+ (n) | 11 | 7 | 4 | – |
| ACA+ (n) | 17 | 7 | 10 | – |
| ANA+ (n) | 11 | 7 | 4 | – |
| Spirometry | ||||
| TLC (L) | 5.33 ± 1.30 | 5.17 ± 1.44 | 5.43 ± 1.24 | 0.72 |
| FVC (L) | 3.20 ± 1.00 | 3.43 ± 1.03 | 3.03 ± 0.96 | 0.30 |
| FEV1 (L) | 2.48 ± 0.92 | 2.72 ± 1.15 | 2.30 ± 0.67 | 0.08 |
| DLCO SB, ml/mmHg/min | 24.16 ± 35.35 | 16.52 ± 10.27 | 30.55 ± 46.92 | 0.58 |
| DLCO SB, % | 80 ± 17% | 83 ± 12% | 77 ± 20% | |
| DLCO SB/VA, ml/mmHg/min/L | 7.65 ± 15.35 | 4.44 ± 1.59 | 9.52 ± 19.34 | 0.46 |
| DLCO SB/VA, % | 90 ± 18% | 92 ± 10% | 90 ± 22% | |
| Echocardiography | ||||
| LVEF (%) | 61 ± 12 | 59 ± 16 | 63 ± 6 | 0.60 |
| TAPSE (mm) | 23 ± 5 | 24 ± 5 | 22 ± 5 | 0.39 |
| PAPs (mmHg) | 31 ± 8 | 25 ± 4 | 37 ± 6 | <0.001* |
| Biochemical | ||||
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.73 ± 1.01 | 0.40 ± 0.25 | 1.01 ± 1.04 | 0.02* |
| ESR (mm/hour) | 22 ± 18 | 20 ± 12 | 24 ± 12 | 0.84 |
| γ-globulin (g/dL) | 16.94 ± 7.07 | 16.70 ± 4.09 | 17.31 ± 10.78 | 0.74 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.84 ± 0.21 | 0.76 ± 0.08 | 0.93 ± 0.30 | 0.26 |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 87 ± 9 | 89 ± 10 | 84 ± 5 | 0.28 |
SSc, systemic sclerosis; lcSSc, limited cutaneous SSc; dcSSc, diffuse cutaneous SSc; Anti-Scl-70+, anti-topoisomerase I; ACA+, anti-centromere antibodies positive; TLC, total lung capacity; FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; DLCO SB, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide; DLCO SB/VA, diffusing capacity corrected for alveolar volume; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; TAPSE, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion; PAPs, mean pulmonary artery pressure; CRP, C reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; PAPs-, PAPs group of PAPs < median; PAPs+, group of PAPs ≥ median; *p < 0.05 from Mann–Whitney U test (–PAPs vs. +PAPs).