Prevalence of sicca symptoms in a South Australian cohort with systemic sclerosis

The presence of sicca symptoms is a frequent finding in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of sicca symptoms in a South Australian cohort of SSc patients and correlate this to a number of parameters, including autoantibody status, use of anticholinergic medication, age and the presence of functional anti-muscarinic-3 receptor (M3R)-blocking antibodies.

A screening questionnaire was sent out to all patients on the South Australian Scleroderma Register from the years 1998-2006 to determine the prevalence of sicca symptoms. A subset of patients on the register had ocular sicca symptoms tested by use of Schirmer's strips to validate the accuracy of the questionnaire. Eight patients were tested for anti-M3R-blocking antibodies using a functional physiological assay.

One hundred and ninety-three SSc patients took part in this study. Sicca symptoms were present in 59% of patients with the limited form of SSc, compared with 49% of patients with the diffuse form and 40% of patients with the overlap syndrome. The use of anticholinergic medication or thyroxine was associated with higher sicca scores in SSc patients. SS-A and SS-B autoantibodies (seen in Sjögren's syndrome) were detected in eight patients in this study. The detection of anti-M3R-blocking antibodies correlated well to presence of sicca.

This study confirmed that sicca symptoms are found in a high proportion of patients with SSc, especially those with the limited variant. Further testing of larger numbers of SSc patients with sicca for anti-M3R-blocking antibodies will be needed before more definitive conclusions can be drawn. Physicians should be made aware that sicca symptoms are a frequent cause of morbidity for SSc patients*.