Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Determinants of Body Mass Index in Early Systemic Sclerosis: Implications for Nutritional Risk Stratification
Authors' conclusion
Smaller oral aperture, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and vascular severity were each independently associated with lower BMI.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with early systemic sclerosis (SSc) (2013 ACR/EULAR criteria, <5 years disease duration from first non-Raynaud symptom), prospective US cohortmean follow-up 5.3 years
- Participants
- 450 patients
- Outcome
- Predictors of lower BMI (serial BMI measurements)
Methodological detailslinear mixed-effects models, univariable and multivariable analyses
- Linear mixed-effects models
- Univariable and multivariable analyses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Independent predictors of BMI, multivariable model adjusted for sex, race and follow-up time
Pseudo-obstruction (lower body mass index (BMI)): β
−6.28
P = 0.032
Smaller oral aperture (lower BMI): β
0.95
P = 0.049
Vascular severity (lower BMI): β
−0.85
P = 0.022
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Predictors of BMI, univariable analyses
- Younger age at baseline (lower BMI): β
- 0.06, P = 0.003
- Anticentromere antibody positivity (higher BMI): β
- 1.69, P = 0.036
- Pseudo-obstruction (lower BMI): β
- −6.07, P = 0.026
- Smaller oral aperture (lower BMI): β
- 1.03, P < 0.001
- Higher Medsger vascular severity score (lower BMI): β
- −2.11, P < 0.001
- Higher Medsger cardiac severity score (lower BMI): β
- −2.70, P = 0.049
Original publication
Determinants of Body Mass Index in Early Systemic Sclerosis: Implications for Nutritional Risk Stratification. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 22 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →