Quality of Life in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis Compared to the General Population and Patients with Other Chronic Conditions

Objective. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) affects multiple physical, psychological, and social domains and is associated with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We compared the HRQOL of SSc patients with individuals in the general Population and patients with other common chronic diseases. Methods. HRQOL of SSc patients in the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group registry was measured using version 2 of the Medical Outcomes Trust Short Form-36 (SF-36). Results were compared to US general population norms and scores reported for patients with other common chronic diseases, namely heart disease, lung disease, hypertension, diabetes, and depression. Results. SF-36 scores were available for 504 SSc patients (86% women, mean age 56 yrs, mean disease duration since onset of first non-Raynaud's manifestation of SSc 11 yrs). The greatest impairment in SF-36 subscale scores appeared to be in the physical functioning, general health, and role physical domains. SF-36 subscale and summary scores in SSc were significantly worse compared to US general population norms for women of similar ages, except for mental health and mental component summary score, which were not significantly different, and were generally comparable to or worse than the scores of patients with other common chronic conditions. Conclusion. HRQOL of patients with SSc is significantly impaired compared to that of the general Population and is comparable to or worse than that of patients with other common chronic conditions. (First Release Feb 15 2009; J Rheumatol 2009;36:768-72; doi: 10.3899/jrheum.080281)