Nutritional Status and Dietary Challenges in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: A Comprehensive Review

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is seriously affected by systemic sclerosis (SSc), due to fibrosis and persistent inflammation. Patients with GI involvement frequently exhibit poor nutritional status, which affects disease burden and quality of life. The aim of the present review was to discuss all nutritional issues in SSc and serve as a primer for the nutritional assessment of patients with scleroderma. Patients with SSc suffer from GI impairments that affect the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. Symptomatology includes microstomia, xerostomia, dysphagia, reflux, esophageal dysmotility, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and fecal incontinence, among others, which may contribute to inadequate food intake. As a result, patients often suffer from malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty, while presenting with micronutrient deficiencies that impact disease outcomes and worsen their condition. This aggravated nutritional status is related to greater disease severity, organ involvement, reduced physical function, and increased length of hospitalization and mortality. GI involvement is well-documented within the SSc population, yet routine nutritional assessments are lacking in the hospital setting. Currently, there is a lack of specific recommendations from scientific societies regarding the nutritional care of patients with SSc. Given the high risk of nutritional impairments in this population, systematic assessments should be undertaken, and novel tools tailored to their unique needs should be developed and implemented.