Association between atherosclerosis and primary Sjogren's syndrome: A cross-sectional study

Atherosclerosis (AS) risk increases in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. The association and mechanism between primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) and AS haven't been explained for now. We did this cross-sectional study to clarify the prevalence and risk factors of AS in patients with pSS, and to further explore how immune cells and inflammatory cytokines work in the process.

Patients with pSS were enrolled. General information, AS events, immune cells, inflammatory cytokines, and related clinical data were recorded. Prevalence of AS events was calculated. Correlation analysis between immune factors and AS quantitative parameters were conducted by SPSS v20.0.

A total of 155 pSS patients were included with a median Framingham 10-year risk of 7%. Sixty-four AS events were recorded, with a prevalence of 41.3%. Carotid intima-media thickness was positively correlated to immunoglobulin (Ig) A (r = 0.245, p = 0.030) and negatively correlated to IgM (r = -0.227, p = 0.045). Left ankle-brachial pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was positively correlated to the course of disease (r = 0.352, p = 0.004), B cells (r = 0.410, p = 0.001), and T helper (Th) cells (r = 0.284, p = 0.029), while negatively correlated to IgM (r = -0.257, p = 0.042). Right baPWV was positively correlated to the course of pSS (r = 0.319, p = 0.010), B cells (r = 0.453, p < 0.001), Th cells (r = 0.302, p = 0.020), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.286, p = 0.042). Use of hydroxychloroquine, cyclophosphamide, and glucocorticoids had no impact on AS events.

The prevalence of AS in patients with pSS is reported to be 41.3%. Several risk factors have been associated with AS in these patients, including the duration of the disease, levels of Th cells, B lymphocytes, and CRP. Interestingly, IgM appears to have a protective effect against AS. It is worth noting that traditional therapy for pSS does not seem to have any effect in preventing AS events.