Volume 9, Issue 1, Page 61

Lupus

January 2000, Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 61 - 64

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Paper

Primary Sjögren's syndrome in men: clinical and immunological characteristics
Ricard Cervera¹, Josep Font¹, Manuel Ramos-Casals¹, Mario García-Carrasco², José Rosas³, Rosa M Morlà¹, Francisco J Muñoz¹, Antonia Artigues⁴, Lucio Pallarés⁴ & Miguel Ingelmo¹
¹Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, IDIBAPS (Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques ‘August Pi i Sunyer’), Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain     ²Rheumatology Unit, School of Medicine, Benemérita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Puebla, México;     ³ Rheumatology Unit, Hospital de la Vila-Joiosa, Alicante, Spain     ⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Son Dureta, Mallorca, Spain

Correspondence to: Dr Ricard Cervera , Unitat de Malalties Autoimmunes Sistémiques, Hospital Clínic, C/Villarroel, 170, 08036-Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Tel: (+34) 93 2275774; Fax: (+34) 93 2275774;
E-mail: cervera@medicina.ub.es

Keywords

primary Sjögren's syndrome;   men

Abstract

Objective: To determine the clinical and immunological characteristics of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in men from a large series of unselected patients with this condition.
Methods: We studied 223 consecutive patients (204 women and 19 men; mean age at onset 53 y, range 15-87 y, mean disease duration 77 months) with primary SS visited in our units. All these patients fulfilled 4 or more of the diagnostic criteria for SS proposed by the European Community Study Group in 1993.
Results: Nineteen (9%) patients were men and they represent the male group described in this paper. Extraglandular manifestations during the course of their disease were present in 10 (53%) of our male patients with primary SS: articular involvement in 4 (21%) patients, interstitial pneumopathy in 3 (16%) and peripheral neuropathy in 2 (11%). ANA were positive in 13 (68%) patients, RF in 5 (31%), anti-Ro/SS-A in 3 (16%) and cryoglobulins in 1/14 (7%). When compared with women, men with primary SS presented a lower prevalence of articular involvement (21% ; vs 46%, P=0.03, OR 0.32, CI 0.07-0.97).
Conclusion: Although primary SS is typically a disease of middle-aged women, clinicians should note that it may be diagnosed in male patients. Except for a lower prevalence of articular involvement, we could no find any notable differences in clinical and immunological characteristics between male and female patients with primary SS.
Lupus (2000) 9, 61-64

Received 4 August 1999; Accepted 13 October 1999