Clinical features of patients with systemic sclerosis positive for anti-SS-A antibody: a cohort study of 156 patients

Anti-SS-A/Ro antibody (anti-SSA), the diagnostic marker of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), is often detected in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Some patients are diagnosed with SSc/SS overlap syndromes, while there are anti-SSA-positive SSc cases without SS. In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics of SSc with anti-SSA and clarified the clinical impact of this antibody in SSc. A retrospective chart review was conducted of 156 patients with SSc at Yokohama City University Hospital from 2018 to 2021. Clinical data, laboratory data, imaging, and autoantibody positivity status were collected and analysed to assess the association between these variables and anti-SSA using multivariable logistic regression analysis. This cohort included 18 men and 138 women with SSc (median age, 69.0 years). Thirty-nine patients had diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) (25