Table 1.
Comparison of glandular, extraglandular, serological and histological features between male and female patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (female control population was matched in a 1:2 ratio based on SS age onset and disease duration).
| FEATURE | Females (n = 192) | Males (n = 96) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| BASIC CHARACTERISTICS | |||
| Age onset of first symptom | 49.7 | 50.1 | 0.7928 |
| Median disease duration until last follow-up (years) | 7 (0–26) | 6 (0–28) | 0.2450 |
| Greek patients | 933 | 47 | |
| Italian patients | 958 | 49 | |
| GLANDULAR MANIFESTATIONS | |||
| Dry mouth | 97% (186/191) | 91% (87/96) | 0.0266 |
| Dry eyes | 94% (180/191) | 87% (83/95) | 0.0747 |
| Salivary gland enlargement | 24%(45/186) | 32% (31/96) | 0.1900 |
| Dry skin | 9%(14/148) | 7% (5/74) | 0.6715 |
| EXTRAGLANDULAR MANIFESTATIONS | |||
| Chronic Fatigue | 38% (57/148) | 27% (21/77) | 0.1733 |
| Raynaud’s phenomenon | 26% (48/185) | 19% (18/94) | 0.3290 |
| Arthritis | 9% (16/185) | 10% (10/95) | 0.7679 |
| Arthralgia | 52% (99/192) | 47% (45/95) | 0.5320 |
| Myositis | 0.5% (1/192) | 2% (2/96) | 0.2585 |
| Interstitial renal disease | 1% (2/190) | 0% (0/95) | 0.5540 |
| Primary biliary cirrhosis | 0% (0/192) | 2% (2/96) | 0.1103 |
| Autoimmune hepatitis | 0% (0/192) | 2% (2/95) | 0.1103 |
| Interstitial lung disease | 5% (9/192) | 8% (8/96) | 0.3309 |
| SEROLOGY | |||
| Rheumatoid Factor | 47% (84/177) | 51% (45/89) | 0.7278 |
| Anti-Ro | 72% (136/190) | 73% (69/95) | 0.9628 |
| Anti-La | 34% (64/189) | 50% (47/94) | 0.0128 |
| LOW C4 | 22% (38/175) | 30% (27/89) | 0.1657 |
| Monoclonality | 4% (7/192) | 7% (7/96) | 0.2866 |
| Cryoglobulinemia | 6% (8/135) | 10% (7/73) | 0.4877 |
| HISTOLOGY | |||
| Focus score ≥ 1 | 80% (90/113) | 78% (42/54) | 0.5425 |
| Median FS in positive biopsies | 1.383 | 1.477 | 0.2786 |
Bold text indicates a statistically significant difference with a p-value less than 0.05.