Health-related quality of life and its influencing factors in adult patients with localized scleroderma - a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Localized Scleroderma (LoS) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease that affects skin and less commonly subcutaneous tissues. The illness occurs in children and adults, and may have a serious impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The goal of this study was to explore what factors might deteriorate scores on HRQoL measures in adult LoS patients. METHODS: Detailed information on the demographic and clinical features of LoS patients was collected. The HRQoL was assessed using Skindex-29 and Short form 36 (SF-36) questionnaires. RESULTS: Thirty three women and seven men with LoS were enrolled. Female gender negatively influenced scores for the emotion subscale of Skindex-29. Multiple-factor linear regression analysis confirmed, as with single-factor analysis, that the causes of low SF-36 physical component score (PCS) were subjective symptoms (pruritus, pain, paresthesia), musculoskeletal manifestations and older age at the time of survey, while rural area of residence negatively affected the SF-36 mental component score. Additionally, single-factor analysis showed that the SF-36 PCS was related to the LoS cutaneous assessment tool (LoSCAT) summary score. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from a clinical presentations, sociodemographic characteristics, including older age, female gender and living conditions, may impair HRQoL of LoS patients. Further studies that will examine the role of these factors for physical and mental functioning of adults with LoS are needed.