Sjogren’s patients with coexisting neurological involvement with symptoms, including pain and physical disability, experience diminished health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) according to a recent study of 50 Sjogren’s patients. All patients underwent neurological clinical examination followed by nerve conduction studies and rheumatological examination. Within this group, 23 Sjogren’s patients were diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, with the most common manifestation being sensorimotor neuropathy (47%). Using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), investigators found that Sjogren’s patients with peripheral nervous system involvement had significantly lower scores compared to those without central nervous system involvement in several areas, including:
- role-physical [0 (0–100) vs. 75 (0–100)],
- role-emotional [67 (0–100) vs. 100 (0–100)],
- vitality [40 (10–70) vs. 50 (20–75)],
- bodily pain [45 (10–75) vs. 55 (0–100)], and
- general health [20 (5–50) vs. 30 (0–50)] (p ≤ 0.05).
The authors concluded that peripheral neuropathy is a common organ-specific complication in Sjogren’s patients and that coexisting neurological involvement with symptoms such as pain and physical disability may be responsible for diminished HR-QoL.
One interesting note: 8 of the study participants had documented neurological symptoms prior to receiving their Sjogren’s diagnosis.
Source: Jaskólska M, Chylińska M, Masiak A, et al. Peripheral neuropathy and health-related quality of life in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome: a preliminary report. Rheumatol Int. 2020;40(8):1267-1274. doi:10.1007/s00296-020-04543-2
