PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Daniel E. Furst
AU  - Ancilla W. Fernandes
AU  - Şerban R. Iorga
AU  - Warren Greth
AU  - Tim Bancroft
TI  - Epidemiology of Systemic Sclerosis in a Large US Managed Care Population
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.111106
DP  - 2012 Mar 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.111106
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2012/02/28/jrheum.111106.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2012/02/28/jrheum.111106.full
AB  - Objective To estimate the incidence and prevalence of systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a large US managed care organization (MCO) database. Methods Subjects with claims-based evidence of SSc (ICD-9-CM code 710.1x) were identified from a health plan database. Incidence and prevalence for the period 2003-2008 were calculated. Results The overall age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate (2003-2008) for SSc was 5.6 cases per 100,000 person-years. The annual prevalence of SSc ranged from 13.5 in 2003 to 18.4 (per 100,000) in 2008. Conclusion This analysis suggests a higher incidence and lower prevalence of SSc in this MCO than those previously reported for the United States.