Life-table analysis based on the survival statistics of 118 Hungarian patients with systemic sclerosis suggests that the presence of skin hypo- and/or hyperpigmentation indicates a poor prognosis. Furthermore, truncal skin involvement, lung, cardiac, and renal manifestations, older age at the onset of disease, anaemia, hand deformity, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate values, predict an unfavourable prognosis, whilst patients with exposure to chemicals shows a relatively favourable disease outcome.