Femoral cartilage thickness in patients with systemic sclerosis: It’s relation to vitamin D

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune progressive connective tissue disease characterized by widespread vascular, immune and fi brotic changes of the skin and internal organs. Articular cartilage thickness previously investigated in few. Lower levels of vitamin D have been demonstrated in SSc patients and may be related to more sever disease of longer duration and extensive skin involvement. Aim of this study was to compare the levels of vitamin D and femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) in SSc patients with that of controls and to analyze the associations between the (FCT), vitamin D levels and SSc-disease parameters.