Epidemiology of Sjogren’s syndrome in a sample of the Egyptian population: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and the associated factors in a sample of the Egyptian population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study obtained data by screening subjects from several hospitals in different governorates across Egypt. Demographic and health data were collected including symptoms and type of Sjögren's syndrome, associated autoimmune diseases, the presence of specific autoantibodies and associated malignancies. RESULTS: The study analysed 7960 participants and 64 (0.80%) had SS. Of these, 22 (34.38%) had primary SS and 42 patients (65.63%) had secondary SS. For the total study cohort, the prevalence of primary and secondary SS was 0.28% and 0.53%, respectively. There was a higher prevalence of SS in females compared with males and SS was more common in the fifth and sixth decades. All patients with SS complained of oral and ocular dryness. The most common concomitant autoimmune disease was rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-SSA (Ro) and anti-SSB (La) antibodies were the most frequently associated autoantibodies. Only two patients had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. CONCLUSION: This was the first study to describe the prevalence of SS in Egypt. SS is not a rare disease in Egypt, so raising awareness of SS in both patients and healthcare professionals is very important.