title: Estimating the prevalence among Caucasian women of primary Sjögren's syndrome in two general practices in Birmingham, UK.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the prevalence among women of primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) in Birmingham, UK.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred and forty-six female Caucasians from two general practitioner lists were invited to complete a questionnaire that included a screening question on dry eyes and mouth. Individuals who responded positively were evaluated further.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 65/% of individuals who were sent a questionnaire responded. Two had possible PSS, but were negative for anti-Ro/La antibodies. Our estimates of the prevalence of PSS ranged from < 0.1% up to 0.4%, depending on the assumptions used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data support previous studies suggesting a prevalence of PSS in the community of 0.1-0.6% rather than those suggesting a higher figure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, University of Birmingham, Medical School, Edgbaston, UK. s.j.bowman@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bowman
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamburger
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ainsworth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population