Kristen Bortke, Shay Cook, Brandi Davidson, Shawna Dietz, Lenae Schneider, & Jordan Taghon

Like some other autoimmune diseases, scleroderma has no exact etiology of why people get the disease. There are however some predisposing factors that have been correlated to the disease. Although it is not based on pure genetics alone, if a person or their family has a history of autoimmune disorders, this increases the chances. Other factors include: female gender; Native American, specifically of the Choctaw tribe, and African American; ages 30-50 (increased rates of occurrence during this range though it can occur at any age group). As state prior, there is no exact cause of scleroderma but some theories speculate there is possibly a susceptibility gene, though this does not cause the disease itself. Other theories state that it may be caused by occupational toxins, such as benzene (a component of gasoline), silica (used in construction, mining, and manufacturing), polyvinyl chloride (a plastic), and trichloroethylene (a solvent).