Systemic sclerosis markedly impairs health-related quality of life: a single-centre tertiary cohort study with literature-based comparison to leading causes of global disease burden.
6 affiliations
- 1Rheumatology Department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK.
- 2NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, UK.
- 3Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
- 4Rheumatology Department, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
- 5Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- 6School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Background
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune condition that significantly impacts the physical and mental health of affected individuals, disrupting their daily life and overall well-being. However, its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has not been thoroughly compared to other chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and stroke, the impact of which is clearly established. We explored how SSc influences HRQoL and compared its effect to that of six chronic diseases, considered the global leading causes of disease burden in high-income countries, and three common rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.Methods
We collected HRQoL data from SSc patients enrolled in a cross-sectional observational study at The Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, UK. We used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 to measure HRQoL and compared the participants' scores to published data on unipolar major depression, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, lung cancer, osteoarthritis, RA, and lower back pain. Mean norm-based transformed scores (NBS) were compared for all eight SF-36 health domains.Results
The 121 SSc patients (106 female; mean age = 57 years, standard deviation = 12.3), disease duration mean = 9.50 years, standard deviation = 7.4) in our study reported significantly worse perceived general health (mean (x̄) NBS = 32.82) than the other nine diseases reported in the literature. Role limitations due to physical problems (x̄ NBS = 34.77) were comparable to stroke, RA, and lung cancer. Significant impairments were noted in bodily pain (x̄ NBS = 36), similar to osteoarthritis, RA, and lower back pain, as well as vitality (x̄ NBS = 39.69), comparable to RA. Emotional role limitations (x̄ NBS = 41.78) were second only to major depression, similar to stroke and RA.Conclusions
We found that SSc has a substantial impact on HRQoL, resulting in significant physical and psychological impairment comparable to that experienced by patients with RA and stroke. These findings contextualise the burden of SSc and may inform future research and clinical practice aimed at improving patient care.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{alcacerpitarch2026systemic,
title = {{Systemic sclerosis markedly impairs health-related quality of life: a single-centre tertiary cohort study with literature-based comparison to leading causes of global disease burden.}},
author = {Begonya Alcacer-Pitarch and Ruben Duarte-Fernandes and Anthony C Redmond and Cristina Rocamora-Gisbert and Elizabeth Hensor and Francesco Del Galdo and Maya H Buch and Anne-Maree Keenan},
journal = {Journal of global health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.7189/jogh.16.04228},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924625},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Systemic sclerosis markedly impairs health-related quality of life: a single-centre tertiary cohort study with literature-based comparison to leading causes of global disease burden.
AU - Begonya Alcacer-Pitarch
AU - Ruben Duarte-Fernandes
AU - Anthony C Redmond
AU - Cristina Rocamora-Gisbert
AU - Elizabeth Hensor
AU - Francesco Del Galdo
AU - Maya H Buch
AU - Anne-Maree Keenan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Journal of global health
DO - 10.7189/jogh.16.04228
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924625
AB - Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune condition that significantly impacts the physical and mental health of affected individuals, disrupting their daily life and overall well-being. However, its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has not been thoroughly compared to other chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and stroke, the impact of which is clearly established. We explored how SSc influences HRQoL and compared its effect to that of six chronic diseases, considered the global leading causes of disease burden in high-income countries, and three common rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.Methods We collected HRQoL data from SSc patients enrolled in a cross-sectional observational study at The Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, UK. We used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 to measure HRQoL and compared the participants' scores to published data on unipolar major depression, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, lung cancer, osteoarthritis, RA, and lower back pain. Mean norm-based transformed scores (NBS) were compared for all eight SF-36 health domains.Results The 121 SSc patients (106 female; mean age = 57 years, standard deviation = 12.3), disease duration mean = 9.50 years, standard deviation = 7.4) in our study reported significantly worse perceived general health (mean (x̄) NBS = 32.82) than the other nine diseases reported in the literature. Role limitations due to physical problems (x̄ NBS = 34.77) were comparable to stroke, RA, and lung cancer. Significant impairments were noted in bodily pain (x̄ NBS = 36), similar to osteoarthritis, RA, and lower back pain, as well as vitality (x̄ NBS = 39.69), comparable to RA. Emotional role limitations (x̄ NBS = 41.78) were second only to major depression, similar to stroke and RA.Conclusions We found that SSc has a substantial impact on HRQoL, resulting in significant physical and psychological impairment comparable to that experienced by patients with RA and stroke. These findings contextualise the burden of SSc and may inform future research and clinical practice aimed at improving patient care.
SN - 2047-2978
SN - 2047-2986
ER -