Correlation between Serum Interleukin-6 Level and Modified Rodnan Skin Score in Systemic Sclerosis Patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the correlation between serum levels of IL-6 and MRSS in systemic sclerosis patients.

Methods: This was a crossectional observational study on patients with SSc visiting the Rheumatology Clinic of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung, Indonesia from January 2019 to December 2020. Registered SSc patients, with validated MMRS by a rheumatologist, and available biological materials for IL-6 measurement were included. Patients with other autoimmune diseases, acute infection, diabetes mellitus, and obesity were excluded from this study

Results: Of the 51 SSc patients, 42 patients met the inclusion criteria. Women comprised the majority of these patients (95.2%), while patients’ mean age was 43±12 years. The mean duration of disease was 20 months, with diffuse SSc (78.6%) as the most frequent type. Bivariate analysis showed that IL-6 was positively correlated with MRSS (100-scale) with r=0.397 and p=0.005.

Conclusion: There is a medium positive correlation between MRSS and interleukin-6 serum among systemic sclerosis patients visiting Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung, Indonesia.