Life Events and Psychoeducation in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis (Report‪)‬

1. Introduction Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic connective tissue disease and a chronic and potentially life threatening condition characterized by vascular abnormalities and fibrosis of the skin and multiple organs [1]. Many factors, such as environmental factors, can lead to immunologic system disturbances and vascular changes. It has been reported on our previous research that social and psychological stresses may trigger these disturbances and changes [2], and conventional thoracic duct lymphatic drainage therapy (TDD) for the SSc patients has been proven effective [3]. Few data relating to a precise psychological event or events underlying the onset of SSc are available, and this study was set up to determine whether life events had been causally related to the onset of SSc and to determine whether psychoeducation combinated with TDD had led to an improvement in the SSc.