Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Master's program

Systemic sclerosis (SSc, or scleroderma) is a rare disease that can affect many parts of the body, including the skin, lungs, heart, and digestive system. Digestive problems are very common in people with SSc. Specific foods or diets may help support overall health and reduce these symptoms. However, very few studies have looked at the quality of foods people with SSc eat, why they choose certain foods or diets, or whether they experience food or nutrition insecurity. This study will use information from the international Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort, which includes more than 1,500 active participants. The goals are to (1) describe overall diet quality in people with SSc; (2) identify which diets, dietary approaches, and supplements people use and why; (3) determine how common food and nutrition insecurity are; and (4) examine how personal and medical factors relate to diet quality, dietary choices, and food insecurity. This study will use data that SPIN participants already provide through regular online assessments, completed every three months. New diet-related questions will be added for this project. This research is important as digestive symptoms and malnutrition are common in SSc but not well studied. Because we know so little about diet and food access in this group, the results of this study will provide important information to guide future diet-focused programs and help improve care and quality of life for people living with SSc.