Abstract:

Objective To explore the clinical feature of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) in the elderly. Methods Totally 117 patients were analyzed retrospectively in our hospital who met the pSS international classification diagnostic criteria in 2012. The patients were divided into the elderly group(≥60 years old, n=50) and the young and middle-aged group (<60 years old, n=67) according to their age, and the clinical data of two groups were analyzed and compared. Results Two groups both showed typical manifestations of dry mouth and (or) dry eyes, while the oral ulcers (14.0%) was more common in the elderly group, and parotid pain (14.9%) was more common in the young and middle-aged group. The positive rates of proteinuria and creatinine elevation in the elderly group were 10.0% and 42.0%, which were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those in the young and middle-aged group (3.0% and 6.0%). However, the positive rates of anti-SSA /SSB and IgG were 52.0% and 34.0% in the elderly group, obviously lower (P<0.05) than those in the young and middle-aged group (86.6% and 55.2%, respectively). There were no significant differences in ANA positivity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood routine, complements, liver and kidney function between two groups. The positive rate of salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) in the elderly group was 52.0%, which was lower than that in the middle-aged group (73.1%) (P<0.05), but the positive rate of lip gland biopsy didn’t show statistical difference between two groups. Conclusions Dry mouth and (or) dry eyes symptoms are the most common clinical manifestations in the patients with pSS. More cases in the elderly group have oral ulcers, while more patients in young and middle-aged group show the symptoms of parotid swelling and pain. Ultrasonography of salivary gland is expected to be the preferred method for the diagnosis of non-invasive auxiliary examination in elderly patients with pSS.

Key words: Elderly, Sjögren’s syndrome, Primary, Clinical features