Antinuclear antibody-negative systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To examine the demographic and clinical characteristics of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients without antinuclear antibodies (ANA) compared to ANA-positive patients.

Methods: SSc patients enrolled in the Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository were included. Relevant demographic and clinical data were entered by participating sites or obtained by chart review.

Physical and occupational therapy referral and use among systemic sclerosis patients with impaired hand function: results from a Canadian national survey.

Objectives: Contractures and deformities of the hand are major factors in disability and reduced health-related quality of life in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Physical (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) have been emphasised to address impaired hand function, but little is known about the extent they are employed. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of Canadian SSc patients with hand involvement who are referred to and use PT or OT services and factors associated with referral.

Anti-centromere antibodies in a large cohort of systemic sclerosis patients: comparison between immunofluorescence, CENP-A and CENP-B ELISA.

Introduction: Anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) are useful biomarkers in the diagnosis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) where they are found in 20-40% of patients and, albeit with lower prevalence, in patients with other systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Historically, ACA were detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on HEp-2 cells and confirmed by immunoassays using recombinant CENP-B. During the last few years, to accommodate high throughput diagnostics, a number of laboratories changed from IIF to ELISA assays.

Frequency and impact of symptoms experienced by patients with systemic sclerosis: results from a Canadian National Survey.

Objective: Knowledge about the range of symptoms experienced by patients with SSc, and their impact on daily functioning is limited. The objective of the present study was to identify symptoms of SSc that patients rated as frequent and that highly impacted their ability to carry out daily activities.

Methods: A total of 464 persons with SSc responded to the Canadian Scleroderma Patient Survey of Health Concerns and Research Priorities, including questions regarding the frequency and impact of 69 SSc symptoms.

Sociodemographic, disease, and symptom correlates of fatigue in systemic sclerosis: evidence from a sample of 659 Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry patients.

Objective: To assess fatigue levels and demographic, socioeconomic, disease, and psychosocial correlates of fatigue in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study of 659 patients with SSc from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry. Fatigue was assessed during annual Registry visits with the Short Form 36 (SF-36) health survey vitality subscale.

Prevalence and clinical correlates of symptoms of depression in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and predictors of symptoms of depression in a large sample of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study of 376 patients with SSc from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry. Patients were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and through extensive clinical histories and medical examinations.

High rates of depressive symptoms among patients with systemic sclerosis are not explained by differential reporting of somatic symptoms.

Objective: Between 36% and 65% of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) report symptoms of depression above cutoff thresholds on self-report questionnaires. The objective of this study was to assess whether these high rates result from differential reporting of somatic symptoms related to the high physical burden of SSc.

Methods: Symptom profiles reported on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were compared between a multicenter sample of 403 patients with SSc and a sample of respondents to an Internet depression survey, matched on total CES-D score, age, race/ethnicity, and sex.

Reliability and validity of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: Reported rates of depressive symptoms in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are high. No depression assessment tools, however, have been validated for patients with SSc. Our objective was to assess the internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and structural/construct validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in patients with SSc.

Depression in patients with systemic sclerosis: a systematic review of the evidence.

Objective: To assess the prevalence, course, and predictors of depression in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search in November 2006 of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases to identify original research studies published in any language that used a structured interview or validated questionnaire to assess major depressive disorder or clinically significant symptoms of depression in patients with SSc. The search was augmented by hand searching 26 selected journals through December 2006 and references from identified articles and reviews.

Predictors of somatic symptoms in depressive disorder.

We explored the relative contribution of potential psychological predictors of somatic symptoms in outpatients with major depressive disorder, including; 1) severity of depression; 2) general anxiety; 3) hypochondriacal worry; 4) somatosensory amplification; and, 5) alexithymia by sampling 100 consecutive outpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of major depressive disorder attending the psychiatry clinics of general hospitals in Turkey. The subjects were rated by clinicians on depressive symptomatology (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), and anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Scale), and completed self-report measures of Hypochondriacal worry (7-item version of the Whiteley Index), the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Multivariate models tested the independent contribution of each of the scales to the level of somatic symptoms as measured by a modified version of the SCL-90 somatization scale.

Correlates of illness worry in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: Anxiety about illness leading to restriction of activity and physical deconditioning has been hypothesized to contribute to the chronicity of fatigue. Pathological symptom attributions, personality traits, and depression have all been hypothesized to contribute to illness worry.

Methods: We compared 45 chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and 40 multiple sclerosis (MS) outpatients using a battery of psychometric instruments comprising the 12-item Illness Worry scale, the Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and a modified version of the SCL-90R Depression scale.

Psychological correlates of functional status in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: The present study was designed to test a cognitive model of impairment in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in which disability is a function of severity of fatigue and depressive symptoms, generalized somatic symptom attributions and generalized illness worry.

Methods: We compared 45 CFS and 40 multiple sclerosis (MS) outpatients on measures of functional ability, fatigue severity, depressive symptoms, somatic symptom attribution and illness worry.

Results: The results confirmed previous findings of lower levels of functional status and greater fatigue among CFS patients compared to a group of patients with MS.