Baseline characteristics of systemic sclerosis patients with restrictive lung disease in a multi‐center US‐based longitudinal registry

Aim Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of disease‐related death in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Here, we assess baseline characteristics of SSc subjects with and without restrictive lung disease (RLD) in a multi‐center, US‐based registry. Methods SSc patients within 5 years of disease onset were enrolled in the Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER), a multi‐center US‐based registry of SSc study participants (age ≥ 18 years) enrolled at 13 expert centers. All subjects met 2013 American College of Rheumatology / European League Against Rheumatism criteria. Subjects with a pulmonary function test (PFT) at baseline before April 1, 2020 were included. High‐resolution computed tomography scan of the chest was not available to characterize ILD for all subjects. RLD was defined as forced vital capacity (FVC)