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Micronutrient deficiency may be common among patients with systemic sclerosis

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Patients with systemic sclerosis were likely to be deficient in micronutrients, including selenium, folic acid and prealbumin, according to data presented by researchers at the University Hospital Zurich.

A group of 176 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) was prospectively enrolled between 2009 and 2014. Investigators assessed patients according to the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) criteria, and also had patients fill out the University of California, Los Angeles Scleroderma Clinical Trial Consortium Gastrointestinal Tract (UCLA SCTC-GIT) questionnaire. In addition, investigators measured micronutrients of zinc, selenium, prealbumin, holotranscobalamin and folic acid in patients.

Almost half of patients with SSc (43.7%) were deficient in at least one micronutrient. The most common deficiency was selenium (21.9%), followed by folic acid (16.6%) and prealbumin (15%). Investigators found 19.3% of patients had multiple deficiencies. Researchers discovered significant associations between low levels of zinc with selenium, prealbumin or folic acid. Lower BMI was associated with lower levels of zinc, and stomach symptoms were associated with low prealbumin.

Lower hemoglobin, higher modified Rodnan Skin Scores and proximal skin thickening were most strongly associated with a deficiency of any of the studied micronutrients and were independently predictive of micronutrient deficiency.

“In our cohort, patients with proximal skin fibrosis and lower BMI were more likely to show a deficiency in micronutrients, suggesting that screening for micronutrient status should be prioritized in these patients,” the researchers wrote. - by Shirley Pulawski

Reference:

Laeubli J, et al. Paper #1887. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting; Nov. 7-11, 2015; San Francisco.

Disclosures: Laeubli reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.