Juvenile and adult-onset scleroderma: Different clinical phenotypes

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) represents extremely rare disease with majority of data coming from adults. Studies comparing juvenile- (jSSc) and adult-onset (aSSc) patients are limited. We aimed to compare clinical features, treatment modalities and survival rates of jSSc and aSSc patients.

A retrospective study among pediatric and adult Scl patients has been performed. Demographic characteristics, clinical features, autoantibody profiles, and treatment data were retrieved from the databases. Survival analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier plot and factors associated with mortality were identified with multiple regression analysis.

A total of 158 adults and 58 juvenile Scl patients were identified. The mean age at the disease onset was 37±14.7 vs. 8.8 ± 4.1 years, mean age at diagnosis 42±15.2 vs. 10.4 ± 3.8 years and mean follow-up duration was 6.3 ± 4.9 years vs. 6.6 ± 4.9 years for aSSc and jSSc patients, respectively. The frequency of interstitial lung disease (ILD) (50.9% vs 30%, p<0.001) and systemic hypertension (17.9% vs 0, p = 0.009) was significantly higher among aSSc. While aSSc patients had presented mostly with limited cutaneous subset (74.1%), diffuse cutaneous subset was the dominant subset among jSSc (76.7%), (p<0.001). The mortality rate was significantly higher among adults (p = 0.005). The ILD (p = 0.03) and cardiac insufficiency (p = 0.05) were independent risk factors of mortality in both aSSc and jSSc patients.

Juvenile and adult-onset Scl represent rarely seen conditions with different clinical phenotypes. Pediatric patients with LS are more commonly seen by pediatric rheumatologists, in contrary to adults. Diffuse disease subset is the dominant form among juvenile patients, whereas limited form is the main disease subset among adults. On the other hand, juvenile-onset patients have a better survival than those with adult-onset.