Table 1 Characteristics of men that were included in the ED substudy by the 22 participating centres compared to those not included.

Age (years)

54.3 (46.0 to 64.1)

52.3 (45.1 to 61.5)

0.12

SSc duration by Raynaud's phenomenon (years)

6.4 (3.4 to 11.7)

7.0 (3.7 to 11.9)

0.21

SSc duration by first non-Raynaud's symptom (years)

5.4 (2.7 to 9.2)

6.0 (3.0 to 10.3)

0.20

Topoisomerase I (Scl70)-autoantibodiespositive

42.8

46.7

0.44

Anti-centromere autoantibodies-positive

14.9

15.7

0.82

U1RNP-positive

6.5

4.7

0.51

RNA polymerase III-positive

9.4

2.8

0.08

Diffuse SSc

56.8

63.7

0.18

Puffy hands

34.3

54.6

< 0.001*

mRSS

10 (4 to 16)

13 (6 to 20)

0.01*

mRSS > 20

16.8

25.0

0.05

C-reactive protein elevation

33.6

24.5

0.07

Digital ulcers

34.7

44.0

0.04*

Synovitis

13.1

20.0

0.05

Joint contractures

33.0

31.8

0.81

Tendon friction rubs

10.2

10.0

0.94

Muscle weakness

22.2

20.9

0.76

Muscle atrophy

11.1

15.5

0.17

Creatine kinase elevation

11.6

13.3

0.58

Oesophageal symptoms

54.4

60.4

0.23

Stomach symptoms

16.0

13.5

0.50

Intestinal symptoms

18.8

12.6

0.11

Lung fibrosis on chest X-ray or HRCT

60.4

56.7

0.59

Forced vital capacity (% predicted)

89 (75 to 101)

92 (81 to 103)

0.36

Forced vital capacity < 80%

32.2

23.3

0.10

DLCO (% predicted)

66 (49 to 82)

69 (55 to 88)

0.05

DLCO < 80%

71.

59.1

0.01*

PAPsys (mmHg)

30 (25 to 37)

27 (20 to 36)

0.004*

PAPsys > 40 mmHg

22.3

19.4

0.51

Diastolic dysfunction

20.4

18.8

0.70

Pericardial effusion

7.1

5.7

0.64

Left ventricular ejection fraction < 60%

25.1

20.0

0.31

Arterial hypertension

21.5

23.6

0.75

Renal crisis

3.3

4.5

0.50

Proteinuria

8.6

9.4

0.79

EULAR SSc activity score

1.5 (0.5 to 3.0)

2 (0.5 to 3.5)

0.27

High SSc activity (score ≥ 3)

27.2

35.2

0.19

Hypocomplementaemia

5.0

5.9

0.71