Are there clinical or serological differences between male and female patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome?
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 > or = 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.


CONCLUSIONS
The pattern of SS in our cohort of patients reveals a difference between male and female patients, in contrast with earlier studies.
Díaz-López
César
C
Unitat de Reumatologia, Departament de Medicina Interna, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Avenida San Antoni M. Claret 167, 08025 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Geli
Carme
C
Corominas
Hèctor
H
Malat
Núria
N
Diaz-Torner
César
C
Llobet
Josep Maria
JM
De La Serna
Arturo Rodriguez
AR
Laiz
Ana
A
Moreno
Mireia
M
Vázquez
Guillermo
G
D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology*