What does this research mean for the field?

Among patients with systemic sclerosis, pulmonary complications are the leading cause of SSc-related mortality, whereas cardiovascular disease, infections, and malignancy drive non-SSc-related deaths, with factors such as older age, interstitial lung disease, and scleroderma renal crisis predicting shorter survival. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To describe causes of death and identify clinical factors associated with shorter survival time from diagnosis among deceased patients with systemic sclerosis.

August 22, 2026Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology

Factors associated with shorter time to death and causes of mortality among deceased patients with systemic sclerosis: a multicentre retrospective study

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To describe causes of death and identify clinical factors associated with shorter survival time from diagnosis among deceased patients with systemic sclerosis.
Screened hospital databases across 19 tertiary rheumatology centres in Turkey between 2004 and 2024, including N=266 deceased patients aged ≥16 years meeting classification criteria.
Extracted baseline clinical characteristics, organ involvement, and echocardiographic measures, with death dates verified via the national death registry.
Constructed cause-specific multivariable Cox regression models to assess time to systemic sclerosis-related and non-related death.
Of 266 deaths, 45.9% (n=122) were systemic sclerosis-related—primarily driven by interstitial lung disease (50.0%, n=61) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (42.6%, n=52)—and 54.1% (n=144) were non-disease-related.
Leading causes of non-disease-related death included cardiovascular conditions (38.9%, n=56), infections (33.3%, n=48), and malignancy (19.4%, n=28).
Older age at diagnosis, scleroderma renal crisis, palpitations, interstitial lung disease, and higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure independently predicted shorter time to disease-related death.

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Implication

Retrospective multicentre study reveals primary causes of mortality in systemic sclerosis, highlighting the necessity of systematic cardiopulmonary monitoring.

Cite This Study

Balcı et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a895fd3ca7ade938187ec50 https://doi.org/10.1080/03009742.2026.2700105

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Implication

Retrospective multicentre study reveals primary causes of mortality in systemic sclerosis, highlighting the necessity of systematic cardiopulmonary monitoring.

Factors associated with shorter time to death and causes of mortality among deceased patients with systemic sclerosis: a multicentre retrospective study

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Factors associated with shorter time to death and causes of mortality among deceased patients with systemic sclerosis: a multicentre retrospective study

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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