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Table 1 Patient characteristics (n = 451)

From: Prevalence, correlates and clinical usefulness of antibodies to RNA polymerase III in systemic sclerosis: a cross-sectional analysis of data from an Australian cohort

Characteristic

Totala

n(%) or mean ± SD

Sex

451

 

   Female

 

397 (88.0%)

   Male

 

54 (12.0%)

Race

435

 

   Caucasian

 

413 (94.3%)

   Asian

 

17 (3.9%)

   Aboriginal-Islander

 

8 (1.8%)

Age (years)

  

   At disease onsetb

441

46.5 ± 13.7

   At recruitment

448

58.1 ± 12.4

Disease duration (years)

  

   At recruitment

441

11.6 ± 10.0

   At time of the studyc

441

13.6 ± 10.3

Recruited within 2 years of SSc onsetb

451

84 (18.6%)

Recruited within 5 years of SSc onsetb

451

151 (33.5%)

Duration of follow-upc,d (years)

315

1.9 ± 0.8

Disease subtypee

451

 

   Limited

 

319 (70.7%)

   Diffuse

 

132 (29.3%)

Disease manifestationsf

  

   Raynaud's phenomenon

436

436 (100%)

   Digital ulcers

451

194 (43.0%)

   Tendon friction rub

451

32 (7.1%)

   Joint contractures

451

166 (36.8%)

   Highest mRSS during follow-upg

434

11.7 ± 9.6

   Synovitis

451

98 (21.7%)

   Myositis

451

4 (0.9%)

   Renal crisish

451

24 (5.4%)

   Systemic hypertensioni

444

190 (42.8%)

   Gastrointestinal involvementj

451

451 (100%)

   Pulmonary arterial hypertensionk

451

49 (10.9%)

   Interstitial lung diseasel

451

139 (30.8%)

   Cardiac involvementm

451

31 (6.9%)

Serologic profilen

  

   Antinuclear antibodies

451

433 (96.0%)

   Anti-centromere pattern

450

197 (43.8%)

   Anti-RNA polymerase III antibody

451

69 (15.3%)

   Anti-topoisomerase antibodies

446

79 (17.7%)

   Anti-histidyl-tRNA synthetase antibodies

446

0 (0%)

   Anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies

445

4 (0.9%)

   Anti-Ro antibodies

446

27 (6.1%)

   Anti-La antibodies

446

6 (1.4%)

   Anti-Smith antibodies

445

1 (0.2%)

   Anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies

298

6 (2.0%)

   Anti-polymyositis-scleroderma antibodies

447

4 (0.9%)

   Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

437

73 (16.7%)

Myeloperoxidase specificity

436

12 (2.8%)

Proteinase-3 specificity

436

15 (3.4%)

   Rheumatoid factor

423

126 (29.8%)

   Anti-phospholipid antibodies

436

138 (31.7%)

   Lupus anticoagulant

325

7 (2.2%)

Treatmentf

451

 

   Corticosteroids

 

198 (43.9%)

   Antimalarialso

 

74 (16.4%)

   Immunosuppressivesp

 

143 (31.7%)

   Biological therapiesq

 

5 (1.1%)

Smoking ever

436

183 (42.0%)

Malignancyr

451

64 (14.2%)

   Solid organs

 

35 (7.8%)

   Hematopoietict

 

7 (1.6%)

   Skin (nonmelanoma)u

 

13 (2.9%)

   Melanoma

 

6 (1.3%)

   Otherv

 

3 (0.7%)

Time interval between SSc onsetw and malignancy diagnosis (years)

 

9.3 ± 8.1

  1. mRSS, modified Rodnan skin score; n (%), number (percentage); SD, standard deviation; SSc, systemic sclerosis. aTotal number of patients in whom data were available for analysis. bDisease onset defined as date of onset of first SSc-related manifestation other than Raynaud's phenomenon. cAs at 13 December 2010. dMean duration of follow-up calculated for those who had more than one annual visit. eDisease subtype classified based extent of skin involvement, with limited disease being confined to extremities and face. fEver from disease onset to most recent visit. gScores range from 0 to 51, with higher scores indicating more severe skin involvement. hRenal crisis defined as abrupt onset severe hypertension (systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥ 180 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 100 mmHg) without an alternate etiology, with or without rising creatinine or microangiopathic anemia. iSystolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg. jGastrointestinal involvement defined as one or more of reflux esophagitis, esophageal stricture or dysmotility, gastric antral vascular ectasia, bowel dysmotility or pseudo-obstruction. kPulmonary arterial hypertension defined as mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≥ 25 mmHg at rest with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ≤ 15 mmHg. lInterstitial lung disease defined by high-resolution computerized tomography scan of the lung. mPresence of either left ventricular systolic or diastolic dysfunction where no other cause was identified, or a conduction disturbance unexplained by other mechanisms, or a characteristic histological picture on endomyocardial biopsy. nAt recruitment. oHydroxychloroquine. pIncludes methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine and cyclophosphamide. qIncludes TNF antagonists and rituximab. rEver from birth to most recent visit. sIncludes breast, lung, colorectal, genitourinary and reproductive tract malignancies. tIncludes lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. uIncludes basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. vIncludes neoplastic variants and pre-neoplastic disorders. wHere SSc onset defined based on onset of skin change.
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Arthritis Research & Therapy

ISSN: 1478-6362

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