Demographic features of patients who were followed up during each of six 5-year time periods
| 1972–6 | 1977–81 | 1982–6 | 1987–91 | 1992–6 | 1997–2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSc, systemic sclerosis. | ||||||
| At risk (n) | 221 | 493 | 768 | 1153 | 1460 | 1508 |
| Female sex (%) | 79 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 81 | 83 |
| Age (at onset of time period; years) | 48* | 50 | 51 | 51 | 52 | 55† |
| Disease duration at the beginning of the interval (years) | 8.4 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 10.6 | 11.2 | 13.9† |
| SSc subtype | ||||||
| Diffuse SSc (%) | 41 | 46 | 49 | 47 | 48 | 44 |
| Deaths | ||||||
| All deaths, n (%) | 42 (19) | 105 (21) | 148 (19) | 211 (18) | 289 (20) | 314 (24) |
| Deaths due to SSc (% of all deaths) | 70 | 68 | 58 | 53 | 57 | 50 |