Coeliac disease in Sjögren's syndrome--a study of 111 Hungarian patients

Recent studies report that in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS), concomitant coeliac disease (CD) is more frequent than in the average healthy population, with dominance of the latent/silent form. We further investigated this to characterise the clinical and immunolaboratory features of SS patients with CD. One hundred and eleven patients with SS were involved in the study. After detailed history, blood samples were taken for antibodies to gliadin, endomysium, and tissue transglutaminase. Of them, six had positive serology for CD and underwent jejunoscopy and small bowel biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of CD. In five patients, the diagnosis was established histologically. The frequency of CD in the SS population was significantly higher than in the non-SS European population (4.5:100 vs 4.5-5.5:1,000). Laboratory findings in these patients showed significantly higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates and IgG, IgA, and IgM levels. On the basis of these findings, we recommend screening, follow-up, and regular gastrointestinal care of SS patients to identify CD cases and help them to avoid severe malnutrition and intestinal malignancies.