Sicca Symptoms and Oral Health Conditions in Sjögren's Syndrome Patients

Objectives: The aims of the study were: 1) to assess and compare the severity of sicca symptoms and oral health conditions between Sjögren Syndrome (SS) patients and healthy individuals; and 2) to explore the association between self-reported sicca symptoms and objective clinical and laboratory indexes. Methods: 85 SS patients (83 females and 2 males; 38 primary SS (pSS) and 47 secondary SS (sSS) cases) and 40 healthy individuals participated in this study. Severity of sicca symptoms was assessed by self-completing the Sicca Symptoms Inventory (SSI). Flow rates of stimulated (SWS) and unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) were measured. Decayed, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS) scores were recorded and compared between groups. Results: SS patients had higher mean SSI scores than controls(pSS/sSS/control: 10.9/11.4/5.4; p<0.001). There were significant differences among three groups in ocular (pSS/sSS/control: 2.9/2.9/1.5; p<0.001), oral (pSS/sSS/control: 2.9/2.6/0.7; p<0.001) and cutaneous domains (pSS/sSS/control: 3.0/3.3/1.9; p=0.001). Compared to the control group, SS patients had significantly reduced flow of SWS (pSS/sSS/control: 0.41/0.53/1.11 g/min, p<0.001) and UWS (pSS/sSS/control: 0.20/0.26/0.50 g/min, p<0.001). Salivary flow rates were inversely correlated to the SSI sum scores (UWS: r=-0.26, p<0.05, SWS: r=-0.36, p<0.05). In addition, compared to the controls, SS patients had a higher mean DMFS (pSS/sSS/control: 45.6/39.2/33.1; p=0.032), DS (pSS/sSS/control: 3.2/3.1/1.1; p<0.001) and FS (pSS/sSS/control: 15.1/13.2/6.4; p<0.001). Conclusion: SS patients had more severe sicca symptoms than healthy individuals. They presented with reduced salivary flow and a higher caries experience. SSI was inversely correlated to salivary flow rates. (Supported by GRF-RGC)