Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study population
Controls | SSc | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
N = 20 | N = 19 | ||
Demographic and clinical features and co-morbidity | |||
Female sex, n (%) | 19 (95) | 18 (95) | 0.74 |
Age, years | 56 ± 8 | 55 ± 10 | 0.64 |
Current smokers, n (%) | 0 (0) | 2 (11) | - |
Hypertension, n (%) | 2 (10) | 4 (21) | 0.41 |
Diabetes, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | – |
Hyperlipidaemia, n (%) | 4 (20) | 3 (16) | 0.73 |
Obesity, n (%) | 2 (10) | 4 (21) | 0.34 |
BMI, kg/m2 | 25 ± 4 | 27 ± 7 | 0.23 |
Medical therapy | |||
Methotrexate, n (%) | None | 5 (26) | – |
Prednisolone, n (%) | None | 2 (11) | – |
Azathioprine, n (%) | None | 1 (5) | – |
Chloroquine, n (%) | None | 1 (5) | – |
Leflunomide, n (%) | None | 1 (5) | – |
Sulfasalazine, n (%) | None | 0 (0) | – |
HRT, n (%) | 3 (15) | 4 (21) | 0.62 |
NSAID, n (%) | None | 3 (16) | – |
Duration of DMARDs, years (median, IQR) | N/A | 2 (1-8) | – |
Duration of NSAIDs, years (median, IQR) | N/A | 1 (1-4) | – |
Disease activity and chronicity indices | |||
SSc VDAI | N/A | 4 ± 2 | – |
ESR, mm/hr (median, IQR) | N/A | 11 (3-18) | – |
CRP, mg/L (median, IQR) | 3 (1-4) | 5 (2-8) | 0.01 |
Hemoglobin (g/L) | 13 ± 1 | 12 ± 1 | 0.05 |
Haematocrit (%) | 41 ± 11 | 34 ± 9 | 0.001 |
Creatinine (μmol/L) | N/A | 67 ± 10 | – |
Duration of SSc, years (median, IRQ) | N/A | 14 (5-19) | – |
mRSS | N/A | 20 ± 6 | – |
Limited/diffuse cutaneous SSc, n (%) | N/A | 10/9 | – |
Anti-centromere antibodies, n (%) | N/A | 8 (42) | – |
Anti-topoisomerase 1 antibodies, n (%) | N/A | 5 (26) | – |