Characteristics of ScleroID highlighting musculoskeletal and internal organ implications in patients afflicted with systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multi-organ disease with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The EULAR SSc Impact of Disease (ScleroID) is a newly introduced SSc-specific patient-reported outcome to evaluate HRQoL in SSc. To investigate the correlation between the ScleroID and the involvement of organ systems as well as disease activity/damage in a SSc cohort from a large tertiary care centre. The ScleroID and clinical characteristics including internal organ involvement and hand function were investigated in 160 consecutive patients with SSc (median age 46 (43;56) years; diffuse cutaneous SSc 55%). A strong correlation was found between the ScleroID and articular disease activity scores (DAS28-CRP, DAS28-ESR, CDAI, SDAI), a hand function performance test, the Hand Anatomy Index and muscle strength tests. Additionally, a strong significant correlation was discovered using instruments representing hand function and musculoskeletal disability including the Cochin Hand Function Scale, the Quick Questionnaire of the Disability of the Hands, Arms and the Shoulders and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index. A significant negative correlation was found between the ScleroID score and the 6-min walking test (6MWT) (rho - 0.444, p