Determinants of Body Mass Index in Early Systemic Sclerosis: Implications for Nutritional Risk Stratification

Gastrointestinal (GI) involvement can lead to malnutrition in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Body mass index (BMI) remains the most widely used marker to screen nutritional status. We aimed to identify predictors of lower BMI in patients with SSc.

Patients with SSc from a prospective US cohort meeting 2013 American College of Rheumatology/EULAR criteria and <5 years disease duration from first non-Raynaud symptom were included. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate associations between baseline variables and serial BMI measurements. Variables identified in univariable analyses and known confounders were included in a multivariable model.

A total of 450 patients were analyzed, with a mean follow-up of 5.3 years. In univariable analyses, younger age at baseline was associated with lower BMI (β = 0.06, P = 0.003). Anticentromere antibody positivity predicted higher BMI (β = 1.69, P = 0.036), whereas pseudo-obstruction (β = -6.07, P = 0.026), smaller oral aperture (β = 1.03, P < 0.001), and higher Medsger vascular (β = -2.11, P < 0.001) and cardiac severity scores (β = -2.70, P = 0.049) predicted lower BMI. In the multivariable model adjusted for sex, race, and follow-up time, pseudo-obstruction (β = -6.28, P = 0.032), smaller oral aperture (β = 0.95, P = 0.049), and vascular severity (β = -0.85, P = 0.022) remained significant.

Smaller oral aperture, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and vascular severity were each independently associated with lower BMI. These predictors may help guide risk stratification, enrollment of high-risk patients into clinical trials, and the development of targeted interventions in high-risk patients.