Clinical characteristics and esophageal motility in Sjogren's syndrome: A single-center study in Taiwan

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that may cause inflammation of exocrine glands, including the salivary glands. Some patients with Sjogren's syndrome also have gastrointestinal disease, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease. A few studies have shown that an association might exist between Sjogren's syndrome and esophageal motility disorder, but the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between clinical symptoms and esophageal motility function in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. Fifty-six patients with suspected esophageal reflux or motility disease who had undergone esophagogastroduodenoscopy and esophageal manometry were retrospectively enrolled. Thirteen patients were diagnosed as having Sjogren's syndrome according to the American-European Consensus Criteria. Forty-three patients without any rheumatic disease or esophageal motor disorder were designated as the control group. We compared the clinical symptoms and endoscopic and esophageal manometric findings between the Sjogren's syndrome and the control groups. Acid regurgitation was more prevalent in the Sjogren's syndrome group (53.8%) than in the control group (11.6%) (P=.003), but the endoscopic findings of reflux esophagitis were similar in both groups (Sjogren's: 38.5%; control: 39.5%;P=.945). Barrett's esophagus was more prevalent in the Sjogren's syndrome group than in the control group (15.4% vs 0%, respectively;P=.051). The upper esophageal sphincter was shorter in the Sjogren's syndrome group than in the control group (2.38 +/- 0.65 cm vs 3.07 +/- 0.74 cm, respectively;P=.003). More reflux symptoms and distinct motility patterns were found in the Sjogren's syndrome group as compared with the control subjects.