Abstract
Objective
Sjögren's disease (SjD) is a chronic autoimmune disease with a complex etiology, where pathogens may influence disease development or progression. Although SjD is not communicable, environmental and endemic pathogen exposures may influence its onset or progression. This study assessed the prevalence and patterns of infectious diseases (IDs) in SjD compared to sicca symptom and autoimmune disease controls.
Methods
This retrospective, cross‐sectional study utilized 2015 to 2023 data from the University of Utah UHealth, analyzing 3,826 patients with SjD and age‐ and sex‐matched controls. ID diagnoses were classified using
International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision
(ICD‐10) codes, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to identify significant differences in ID prevalence between cases and control cohorts. Unique infections, reinfections, and temporal analyses were performed. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified common and unique patterns of ID diagnoses across different patient groups.
Results
Patients with SjD had an average of 5.30 ± 8.00 unique ID diagnoses compared to 4.86 ± 6.15 in controls (
P
Mycobacterium
,
Streptococcus spp.
), viral (eg, herpesviruses, molluscum contagiosum), fungal (eg,
Candida
,
Aspergillus
), and parasitic (onchocerciasis) infections in SjD. ID profiles in SjD strongly aligned with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Conclusion
These findings suggest increased prevalence and recurrence of infections in SjD a potential role in disease onset and progression. Further studies are needed to clarify infection‐related mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets.