Patients with both scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are younger at diagnosis, are more often women, and have less skin manifestations, but most importantly, show similar survival rates as those without lupus, according to a study.

The study, “Epidemiology and Survival of Systemic Sclerosis-Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Overlap Syndrome,” was published in The Journal of Rheumatology.

Approximately 20 percent of patients with scleroderma also have lupus. Symptoms of scleroderma may overlap with those of lupus, in both diffuse and limited cutaneous subtypes, which complicates diagnosis.

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