Background: Fatigue is a prevalent symptom in Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) patients with dryness and pain serving as robust predictors.

Objectives: This study compares fatigue levels among patients with primary SS (pSS), secondary SS (SS), and those with connective tissue disorder (CTD) without SS, while exploring associated factors.

Methods: In this single-center, cross-sectional study, adult patients with pSS, sSS, and CTD without SS were assessed using the EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI), patient global assessment (PGA), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue (FACIT-F) (higher FACIT-F scores indicates less fatigue).

Results: Results from 115 pSS, 125 sSS, and 52 CTD without SS patients showed significant differences in median FACIT-F (30 vs. 36 vs. 42) and ESSPRI (5.5 vs. 4.3 vs. 4.1) (all P-values < 0.05). Compared to sSS, pSS patients reported more severe symptoms in FACIT-F’s experience domain and ESPPRI’s fatigue and dryness domain. Fatigue severity correlated with pain, dryness, and PGA in all three groups. Multivariate regression analysis identified subjective pain and dryness as independent predictors of fatigue in both pSS and sSS groups. In pSS patients, female gender, fibromyalgia and arthritis were associated with fatigue, while in sSS patients, CRP levels was linked to fatigue.

Conclusion: Patients with pSS reported more severe fatigue than those with sSS or CTD patients without SS. Independent risk factors for fatigue in pSS patients included female gender, fibromyalgia, arthritis, subjective pain, and dryness, differing somewhat from sSS patients. Proper management of arthritis and fibromyalgia could ameliorate fatigue in pSS patients.

REFERENCES: [1] Zhao R, Dong C, Gu Z, Ding X, Li J. Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting fatigue in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Clin Rheumatol . Published online December 28, 2023. doi:10.1007/s10067-023-06853-9

Acknowledgements: NIL.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared.