To evaluate cognitive performance in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) compared to those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls.
Key Findings:
Global cognitive performance was similar across groups, but 53% of SSc patients scored below the normal cognition threshold on MoCA.
SSc patients took longer on executive function tasks (TMT-B: 114 seconds) compared to controls (68 seconds) and RA patients (96 seconds).
SSc patients had higher anxiety scores, particularly for trait anxiety, compared to controls, while depressive symptoms were similar between SSc and controls.
Interpretation:
The findings suggest subtle cognitive differences in specific domains, particularly executive functions, rather than global cognitive impairment in SSc patients.
Limitations:
Small sample size and reliance on historical control groups may have introduced biases.
Cross-sectional design limits assessment of causality and changes over time.
Differences observed were limited to specific cognitive domains.
Conclusion:
The study indicates that while SSc patients may not exhibit global cognitive impairment, they show notable delays in specific cognitive tasks and increased anxiety.
