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Updated: Jul 30, 2025
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Imaging Features of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Published on: June 16, 2020
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Incidence of interstitial lung abnormalities: the MESA Lung Study
Claire F McGroder1, Spencer Hansen2, Karen Hinckley Stukovsky2
1Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
The European Respiratory Journal
|May 18, 2023
Summary
Newly developed interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and fibrotic ILA incidence were estimated using cardiac CT scans. Age, smoking, and genetic factors like the MUC5B polymorphism are associated with developing ILA.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Radiology
- Genetics
Background:
- The incidence of newly developed interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and fibrotic ILA has not been previously reported.
- Early detection of lung disease is crucial for timely intervention and improved patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of newly developed interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and fibrotic ILA.
- To identify risk factors associated with the development of ILA and fibrotic ILA.
Main Methods:
- Trained thoracic radiologists evaluated 13,944 cardiac computed tomography scans from 6,197 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants.
- Scans were assessed for ILA, with 5% re-read for inter-observer agreement. Incidence rates were calculated after excluding baseline ILA.
- Multivariable analyses identified associations between age, high attenuation areas, MUC5B polymorphism, ever-smoking, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis polygenic risk score with ILA development.
Main Results:
- High intra-reader (92.0%) and inter-reader (83.5%) agreement for ILA detection was observed.
- The incidence of ILA and fibrotic ILA was estimated at 13.1 and 3.5 cases per 1000 person-years, respectively.
- Age, high attenuation areas, MUC5B polymorphism, ever-smoking, and an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis polygenic risk score were significantly associated with incident ILA and/or fibrotic ILA.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac imaging studies can be utilized to estimate the incidence of ILA and fibrotic ILA.
- These findings suggest the potential for using atherosclerosis screening tools to identify pre-clinical lung disease.
