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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffSeveral factors appear to increase the risk of certain types of scleroderma:
Race and ethnicity
Certain groups of people are more likely to develop scleroderma than are others:
- Native Americans. Choctaw Native Americans in Oklahoma are at least 20 times as likely as is the general population to develop systemic scleroderma. Oddly enough, this increased risk doesn't apply to Choctaws living in Mississippi.
- African-Americans. Systemic scleroderma is more common in African-Americans than it is in Americans of European descent. And the African-Americans who have systemic scleroderma are more likely to develop severe lung complications.
Gender
Scleroderma occurs at least four times as often in women as it does in men.
Environmental factors
Exposure to a variety of substances may be linked to the development of scleroderma. Examples include:
- Silica dust, which is common in coal mines and rock quarries
- Some industrial solvents, such as paint thinners
- Certain chemotherapy drugs
References
- Scleroderma. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Scleroderma/default.asp. Accessed Aug. 31, 2010.
- Hummers LK, et al. Scleroderma. In: Imboden JB, et al. Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2725959. Accessed Aug. 31, 2010.
- Denton CP. Classification of scleroderma disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 1, 2010.
- Varga J. Risk factors and possible causes of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 1, 2010.
- Varga J. Overview of the clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 1, 2010.
- What is a rheumatologist? American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/rheumatologist.asp. Accessed Sept. 1, 2010.
- Varga J, et al. Systemic scleroderma and the scleroderma-spectrum disorders. In: Firestein GS, et al. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders Company; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/217753976-2/0/1807/575.html?tocnode=55733367&fromURL=575.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3285-4..10077-4_2830. Accessed Sept. 1, 2010.
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