Impact of gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological distress on quality of life in systemic sclerosis : a cross-sectional study

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by microvascular damage and fibrosis. Mortality in patients with SSc has significantly decreased. Consequently, patients with SSc have longer life expectancy, and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) has become more relevant in the comprehensive management of the disease. To evaluate the impact between gastrointestinal (GI) symptom burden and psychological well-being on HrQoL in patients with SSc. Nested cross-sectional study conducted between January and July 2022. A single-centre cohort of 166 patients with SSc, including 103 (55%) with limited cutaneous SSc, 43 (24%) with diffuse SSc and 37 (21%) with sine-sclerosis SSc. GI symptom burden was assessed using the University of California Los Angeles Scleroderma Clinical Trial Consortium gastrointestinal tract 2.0 (UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0) questionnaire, psychological well-being was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and HrQoL was evaluated using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. Demographic, clinical and immunological data were collected from a prospectively maintained database. Patients with moderate to severe GI symptoms (UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 score.