Patients with Sjögren’s disease reported markedly different symptom burdens and functional effects, with inability to work ranging from 3.4% in the lowest-burden subgroup to 33.9% in the highest. Photo: Suzanne Sherman, OD. Click image to enlarge.
Dryness may be a hallmark of Sjögren’s disease, but it does not fully capture the range or impact of symptoms patients experience. A study published recently in BMJ Open Ophthalmology identified four distinct symptom-based subgroups, suggesting that observing patterns of co-occurring symptoms could help clinicians better understand disease burden and individual care needs.
Researchers analyzed patient-reported data from 296 respondents to an online survey co-designed with patients living with Sjögren’s disease. Using responses covering 24 symptoms, they identified four groups: a sicca-predominant, low-burden group; a fatigue-dryness dominant group; a musculoskeletal-cognitive group; and a multisystem, high-severity group.
The differences extended beyond symptom profiles. Psychological distress and functional impairment increased with overall disease burden, with inability to work ranging from 3.4% in the lowest-burden group to 33.9% among those with multisystem, high-severity disease.
Healthcare priorities also varied considerably. The proportion of respondents reporting an urgent need for effective treatments increased from 56% in the lowest-burden group to 86% in the highest, while the need for improved diagnostic testing rose from 38% to 68%. Across all four groups, however, better education of doctors and other healthcare professionals was consistently identified as an important priority.
The findings suggest that assessing the combination of symptoms patients experience, rather than overall disease severity alone, may provide additional insight into Sjögren’s disease and its effects on daily life. The authors noted that multidimensional patient-reported assessment could be particularly useful given the lack of reliable biological markers for stratifying patients.
The study was limited by its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data, and the researchers called for validation in larger and more diverse populations. Still, they said the findings provide a foundation for exploring more individualized approaches to care.
“Considering patterns of symptom co-occurrence may provide additional insight beyond overall severity measures alone,” the researchers concluded. “In the absence of reliable biological markers for stratification, multidimensional patient-reported assessment may offer a practical approach to characterizing disease burden and identifying individuals with differing care needs.”
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This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.