title: [Characteristics of clinical symptoms and course of systemic scleroderma depending on sex and age of onset].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define clinical features of systemic sclerosis (SS) in age and sex aspects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study covered 100 patients aged 15 to 83 years with SS (24 males and 76 females) lasting for 1-15 years (mean 6.2 +/- 4.1 years). Groups of females and males, with disease onset age under 50 years (32 years) and over 50 years were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Males had a prevalent diffuse clinical form of SS with advanced skin syndrome, primarily indurative alterations, marked disturbances of microcirculation, abnormal heart rhythm and conduction, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis with development of pulmonary hypertension. The patients with late SS onset are characterized by development of visceral pathology within the first 3 years of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In making SS diagnosis and in the disease treatment it is necessary to consider the patients' sex and age, peculiarities of the debut, clinical picture, course and prognosis.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Volkov
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Starovoĭtova
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Guseva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric