ArticleBMJ open2024
Severity and impact of digestive impairment perceived by patients with systemic sclerosis: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Relationship Between Microbiota, Nutrition, and Gastrointestinal Tract Symptoms in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Systemic Sclerosis: Prevalence and Severity across Disease Subtypes and Autoantibody Profiles.Acta medica Lituanica · 2026Article
- Palliative care in systemic sclerosis: incorporating advance care planning into longitudinal care.Journal of scleroderma and related disorders · 2026Review
- Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Symptoms in Adults With Systemic Sclerosis: A Nationwide Study in Spain.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Frequency of dysphagia among patients submitted to a rheumatology department: a cross-sectional analysis based on the EAT-10 questionnaire.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- Impact of gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological distress on quality of life in systemic sclerosis: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo describe the severity and impact of gastrointestinal involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and identify associated factors. PATIENTS AND
methodsNon-controlled cross-sectional study of patients with SSc (2013 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria). The main variables were severity of gastrointestinal involvement according to the University of California, Los Angeles Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Gastrointestinal Tract 2.0 instrument (UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0) and dysphagia according to the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10). We evaluated reflux, distension, diarrhoea, faecal soilage, constipation, emotional well-being and social functioning, as well as dysphagia. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) and the EuroQol-5D-3L. The degree of skin fibrosis was assessed using the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS). Multivariate models were constructed to analyse factors associated with gastrointestinal involvement and dysphagia.
resultsOf the 75 patients with SSc included, 58.7% had moderate, severe or very severe reflux, 57.4% had constipation according to UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 and 49.7% had abdominal distension. Gastrointestinal symptoms interfered significantly with social functioning (42.7%) and emotional well-being (40.0%). Dysphagia (EAT-10≥3) was recorded in 52% of patients, and according to MNA-SF poor nutrition in 30.7%, and clear malnutrition requiring a nutritional intervention in 5.3%. Multivariate adjustment revealed an association between severity of gastrointestinal symptoms according to the mRSS (β=0.249; p=0.002) and Visual Analogue Scale 3-Level EuroQol-5D (VAS-EQ-5D-3L) (β=-0.302; p=0.001), whereas presence of dysphagia was associated with the mRSS (OR=2.794; p=0.015), VAS-EQ-5D-3L (OR=0.950; p=0.005) and malnutrition (MNA-SF≤7; OR=3.920; p=0.041).
conclusionsPatients with SSc frequently present severe gastrointestinal symptoms. These are associated with poor quality of life, more severe skin involvement and malnutrition.
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