Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Environmental and occupational factors in the aetiopathogenesis of systemic sclerosis: insights from a large multinational patient survey
Authors' conclusion
We benchmark potential environmental and occupational factors in SSc. A novel finding was the identification of several important potential industrial/chemical agent exposures.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc) invited through international patient associations and social media; 19 countries, mostly USA (68%) and UK (23%); 93% female; 81% ≥ 51 years old
- Participants
- 478 evaluable individuals
- Outcome
- Potential current/past environmental and occupational exposures relevant to SSc
Methodological detailsonline survey, multinational, descriptive statistics, Voluntary participation; no identifiable information collected
- Online survey
- Multinational
- Descriptive statistics
- Voluntary participation; no identifiable information collected
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Outdoor sun exposure, paint/varnishes/lacquers, weedkillers, wet work/cleaning agents, paint thinners/removers, biological agents, pesticides, solvents/degreasers, and ionizing radiation (each reported by >10%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Exposures previously implicated in SSc
- Silica/quartz, PVC/plasticizers, vinyl chloride and epoxy resins also reported, although less frequently
SSc subtype
- Diffuse cutaneous SSc
- 137
- Limited cutaneous SSc
- 178
- MCTD/SSc overlap (around one-fifth)
- 84
Disease duration
- >10 years
- 50%
- 5-10 years
- 20%
Employment status
- Active employment (one-third): full-time
- 23%
- Active employment: part-time
- 10%
- Self-employed
- 4.6%
- Retired
- 42%
Original publication
Environmental and occupational factors in the aetiopathogenesis of systemic sclerosis: insights from a large multinational patient survey. Scand J Rheumatol. Published 17 April 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →