Sjögren’s disease is an autoimmune condition where your immune system, which normally fights infections, mistakenly attacks your own body. Sjögren’s mainly affects the glands that produce moisture, like your tear and saliva glands, leading to dry eyes and a dry mouth. However, Sjögren’s can also cause joint pain, fatigue, and sometimes affects other parts of the body, including organs like the lungs and kidneys.
Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent serious impairment and improve your quality of life.
Sjögren’s (pronounced SHOW-grins) disease, previously referred to as Sjögren’s syndrome, is a systemic autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the moisture-producing glands. The disease is nearly as common as rheumatoid arthritis.
In Sjögren’s disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own healthy tissues, damaging the glands that make tears and saliva. The result is chronic dryness throughout the body but most commonly in the eyes and mouth.
While Sjögren’s typically affects the secretory glands, it’s a systemic disease that can affect nearly any organ.
Because it affects the entire body and symptoms are often not specific, Sjögren’s disease can be hard to diagnose. People often receive a delayed diagnosis because Sjögren’s symptoms mimic many other conditions.
Some of the conditions Sjögren’s disease ismost commonly mistaken for are:
Further delaying diagnosis are different approaches to treatment from different doctors. For example, your eye doctor may treat your dry eye but not recognize your skin symptoms. Likewise, your primary care provider may treat your joint pain but not know you have dry eye.
Sjögren's can occur on its own without another autoimmune disorder or with another autoimmune condition. Half of cases occur with another autoimmune condition, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or scleroderma. While some people experience only mild effects, others have disabling symptoms.
The cause of Sjögren’s disease is unknown but likely involves a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors, such as viral or bacterial infections.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the risk factors for Sjögren’s include:
If left untreated, Sjögren’s disease can cause discomfort and sometimes additional health issues.
These include:
Sjögren's disease is often considered a rare disease, but millions of people are estimated to be living with the disease – making it one of the more prevalent autoimmune diseases.
The disease affects people of all races and ethnicities. Most are ages 50 or older when they're first diagnosed, and women are nine times more likely to have Sjögren's disease than men.
Just as every person is different, every person's Sjögren’s manifestations also are different. Some people have constant symptoms, while others have symptoms that come and go. Still, others have cycles of mild and serious symptoms.
Two symptoms that people most share are:
Sjögren’s disease also can cause symptoms in other body parts, such as:
If you're experiencing symptoms of Sjögren’s Disease that are causing discomfort or affecting your activities of daily living, it’s time to talk to your doctor. If you've been diagnosed with Sjögren’s disease, you should be monitored by a rheumatologist — a doctor specializing in autoimmune disorders.
A rheumatologist can diagnose Sjögren’s disease. But it’s not uncommon for your ophthalmologist (eye doctor), dentist, or other specialists to perform tests that help in the diagnosis.
A Sjögren's diagnosis is based on how well your salivary and tear glands work and evidence of autoimmunity (immune markers associated with Sjögren’s and inflammation within the saliva-producing glands). Your provider may run lab tests, imaging scans, or perform a biopsy to confirm Sjögren’s or another autoimmune disorder.
No single test can confirm a Sjögren’s diagnosis, so your doctor will ask you about your symptoms.
They'll ask you about the symptoms that are associated with Sjögren’s extraglandular manifestations and about rheumatologic conditions more broadly.
For instance, they may ask you:
They may also run tests, including:
Each person’s symptoms and manifestations of Sjögren’s aren't the same, so Sjögren’s treatment plans are different, too. The goal is to reduce side effects and improve your health in the short and long term.
Your treatment will depend on which parts of your body are affected by Sjögren’s.
Treatment plans often include a combination of self-management approaches and over the counter (OTC) and prescription medications. Sometimes, lifestyle changes can relieve certain symptoms, such as fatigue.
Prescription medicine may be needed at some point to control your disease progression and reduce complication risks.
No single medication has proved to slow the disease progression of Sjögren’s or treat all symptoms. Because there's no cure, treatment concentrates on relieving symptoms and preventing complications from the overactive immune system. Make sure to tell your doctor which medications you currently take because some may worsen eye and mouth dryness.
Your provider will work with you, your dentist, your ophthalmologist, and other subspeciality providers to develop a personalized plan to treat your specific symptoms.
UPMC is home to the first dedicated Sjögren’s disease center in the greater Pittsburgh region.
Here, you can expect seamless care across multiple disciplines. We partner with the UPMC Vision Institute on a monthly dry eye clinic at UPMC Mercy Pavilion.
Our experts are also building a research program where they can learn and better understand Sjögren’s diseaseand conduct research that will fuel the development of future therapies.
Last reviewed by Rachael Gordon, MD, PhD on 2024-12-02.
