Health-related internet use by patients with systemic sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases: comment on the article by van der Vaart et al

摘要

We read with interest the article by van der Vaart et al published recently in Arthritis Care & Research (1) describing the information needs and support of patients with systemic sclerosis. This article partially recapitulated the results and conclusion made by us in a related study (2). Our study included 184 patients from different Spanish regions and with different autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis (17.1%). Internet use for health-related purposes was similar among all studied patients, regardless of the pathology. The mean ± SD age was 47.5 ± 15.04 years, from which 72.8% were women. In total, 84% of subjects had searched the internet for information relating to their condition, a percentage similar to that reported by van der Vaart et al (1).