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Updated: Dec 25, 2025
Imaging Features of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Published on: June 16, 2020
Increased Mortality in Asians With Systemic Sclerosis in Northern California
Melody P Chung1, Makdine Dontsi2, Debbie Postlethwaite2
1Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California, and Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to evaluate racial/ethnic differences in disease manifestations and survival in a US cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), with a focus on Asian patients.
Methods:
A retrospective cohort study was conducted among Kaiser Permanente Northern California adults with an incident SSc diagnosis by a rheumatologist from 2007 to 2016, confirmed by a chart review to fulfill 2013 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria. Self-reported race/ethnicity was categorized as non-Hispanic white, Asian, Hispanic, and black. Disease manifestations and survival were compared, using white patients as the reference.
Results:
A total of 609 patients with incident SSc were identified: 89% were women, and 81% had limited cutaneous SSc, with a mean age at diagnosis of 55.4 ± 14.8 years. The racial/ethnic distribution was 51% non-Hispanic white (n = 310), 25% Hispanic (n = 154), 16% Asian (n = 96), and 8% black (n = 49). Compared with white patients, black patients had a greater prevalence of diffuse disease (14.5% vs. 44.9%; P < 0.001), and Asians had higher rates of anti-U1-RNP antibodies (32.1% vs. 11.9%; P = 0.005). Nine-year overall survival rates following SSc diagnosis were lower in Asian (52.3%), black (52.2%), and Hispanic patients (68.2%) compared with white patients (75.8%). Pulmonary hypertension and infections were the leading causes of death in Asian patients. Asian race was associated with higher mortality on univariable (hazard ratio [HR] 1.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-2.99]; P = 0.020) and multivariable analyses (HR 1.80 [95% CI 0.99-3.16]; P = 0.047) when adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, cutaneous subtype, smoking status, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, renal crisis, and malabsorption syndrome.
Conclusion:
Asian patients with SSc in this US cohort had increased mortality compared with white patients. These patients warrant close monitoring for disease progression.
