J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2012 Apr;53(4):499-504.

Prevalence and Clinical Aspects of Sjogren Syndrome in Dry Eye Patients

• Lee JS
• Choi W
• Lee SS
• Yoon KC

Abstract

PURPOSE
To investigate the prevalence and clinical aspects of Sjogren syndrome in patients who were diagnosed with dry eye syndrome in Korea.
METHODS
The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with dry eye syndrome in a dry eye clinic during a 2-year period (March 2008 to March 2010) and were followed up for more than 3 months were reviewed retrospectively.
RESULTS
A total of 206 patients were included in the present study. Fifty-eight patients (28%) had Sjogren syndrome and 39 patients (19%) showed primary Sjogren syndrome. Sjogren syndrome patients showed poorer results than non-Sjogren syndrome patients in ocular surface disease index score (OSDI), tear break up time, Schirmer test score, and ocular surface staining score using the Oxford scheme (p < 0.05). Among the patients with primary Sjogren syndrome, 27 patients were SSA (anti-Ro antibodies) or SSB (anti-La antibodies) positive and 12 patients were sero-negative. There were no statistically significant differences in objective or subjective parameters between the sero-positive and sero-negative groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Sjogren syndrome was observed in 28% of all dry eye patients, in two-thirds of severe dry eye patients. Sjogren syndrome patients showed more severe clinical aspects than dry eye patients with non-Sjogren syndrome. Diagnosing Sjogren syndrome through systemic evaluation is necessary in the patients with severe dry eye.

Keyword

Autoantibodies; Dry eye; Prevalence; Sjogren syndrome

MeSH Terms

Autoantibodies
Dry Eye Syndromes
Eye
Humans
Medical Records
Prevalence
Sjogren's Syndrome
Tears
Autoantibodies

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