Abstract: Are There Clinical or Serological Differences Between Male and Female Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome?

Are There Clinical or Serological Differences Between Male and Female Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome?

CÉSAR DÍAZ-LÓPEZ, CARME GELI, HÈCTOR COROMINAS, NÚRIA MALAT, CÉSAR DIAZ-TORNER, JOSEP MARIA LLOBET, ARTURO RODRIGUEZ DE LA SERNA, ANA LAIZ, MIREIA MORENO, and GUILLERMO VÁZQUEZ

ABSTRACT.

Objective. Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. It can be primary (pSS) or secondary (sSS) and is observed 90% more in women than in men, mainly in the fourth and fifth decades of life. We investigated the prevalence of serological and clinical manifestations in male and female patients with primary SS.

Methods. We analyzed 521 female and 28 male patients with pSS between 1993 and 2001. All patients fulfilled ≥ 4 of the 1993 European Community Study Group criteria.

Results. Men presented higher concentrations of IgA, rheumatoid factor, and antinuclear antibodies than women. A higher percentage of women than men reported fibromyalgia, thyroidal manifestations, and carpal tunnel syndrome. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in relation to the presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, arthritis, erosive osteoarthritis, liver disease, or other visceral manifestations.

Conclusion. The pattern of SS in our cohort of patients reveals a difference between male and female patients, in contrast with earlier studies. (J Rheumatol 2004;31:1352-5)

Key Indexing Terms:

SJÖGREN'S SYNDROME
AUTOIMMUNITY
SEX DIFFERENCES

From the Unitat de Reumatologia, Departament de Medicina Interna, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau; and the Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica (IMIM), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

C. Díaz-López, MD; C. Geli, MD; H. Corominas, MD; C. Diaz-Torner, MD; J.M. Llobet, MD; A. Rodriguez De La Serna, MD; A. Laiz, MD; M. Moreno, MD; G. Vázquez, MD, Departament de Medicina Interna, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau; N. Malat, MD, Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica.

Address reprint requests to Dr. H. Corominas, Unitat de Reumatologia, Departament de Medicina Interna, Avda. San Antoni M. Claret, 167, 08025 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. E-mail: hcorominas@hsp.santpau.es

Submitted January 23, 2003; revision accepted January 14, 2004.