Prevalence and comorbidities of Sjogren's syndrome patients in the Community of Madrid: A population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities of Sjogren’ssyndrome (SS) patients in the Community of Madrid.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional cohort of SS patients was derived from the information sys-tem for rare diseases in the Community of Madrid (SIERMA) and confirmed by a physician. The prevalence per 10,000 inhabitants among people aged ≥ 18 years in June 2015 was calculated. Sociodemographicdata and accompanying disorders were recorded. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed.

Results: A total of 4,778 SS patients were confirmed in SIERMA; 92.8% were female, with a mean ageof 64.3 (standard deviation = 15.4) years. A total of 3,116 (65.2%) patients were classified as primary SS(pSS), and 1,662 (34.8%) as secondary SS (sSS). The prevalence of SS among people aged ≥18 years was8.4/10,000 (95%Confidence interval [CI] = 8.2–8.7). The prevalence of pSS was 5.5/10,000 (95%CI = 5.3–5.7),and that of sSS was 2.8/10,000 (95%CI = 2.7–2.9), with rheumatoid arthritis (20.3%) and systemic lupuserythematosus (8.5%) being the most prevalent associated autoimmune diseases. The most commoncomorbidities were hypertension (40.8%), lipid disorders (32.7%), osteoarthritis (27.7%) and depression(21.1%). The most prescribed medications were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (31.9%), topicalophthalmic therapies (31.2%) and corticosteroids (28.0%).

Conclusion: The prevalence of SS in the Community of Madrid was similar to the overall prevalenceworldwide observed in previous studies. SS was more frequent in women in their sixth decade. Twoout of every three SS cases were pSS, while one-third were associated predominantly with rheumatoidarthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.