Epidemiological and clinical features of sera from 5 patients who were anti-tTG-positive.
| Feature | Patient 1 | Patient 2 | Patient 3 | Patient 4 | Patient 5 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | F | F | M | M | M | NS |
| Age, yrs | 20 | 68 | 34 | 46 | 69 | NS |
| Age at disease onset, yrs | 18 | 60 | 23 | 40 | 65 | NS |
| RP duration, yrs | 3 | 8 | 26 | 7 | 29 | NS |
| Disease subset | dcSSc | dcSSc | dcSSc | dcSSc | lcSSc | NS |
| ANA pattern | Speckled | Speckled/Nuc | Speckled/Nuc | Speckled/Nuc | ACA | NS |
| SSc-specific autoantibody | None | Anti-topo I | Anti-topo I | Anti-topo I | ACA | NS |
| History of iron deficiency anemia | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | NS |
| Celiac disease symptoms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
RP: Raynaud’s phenomenon; dsSSc: diffuse cutaneous SSc; lcSSc: limited cutaneous SSc; ANA: antinuclear antibody; Nuc: nucleolar; anti-topo I: anti-topoisomerase I; ACA: anticentromere antibody; NS: nonsignificant.