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Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on June 24, 2009
Rheumatology 2009 48(9):1077-1082; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep141
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Health-related quality of life, employment and disability in patients with Sjögren's syndrome

Jiska M. Meijer1,*, Petra M. Meiners1,*, James J. R. Huddleston Slater1,2, Fred K. L. Spijkervet1, Cees G. M. Kallenberg3, Arjan Vissink1 and Hendrika Bootsma3

1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2Department of Oral Health Care and Clinical Epidemiology, Academic Center for Oral Health and 3Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Correspondence to: Arjan Vissink, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, PO Box 30.001, 9700 RB, Groningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: a.vissink{at}kchir.umcg.nl


  Abstract

Objective. To compare health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), employment and disability of primary and secondary SS (pSS and sSS, respectively) patients with the general Dutch population.

Methods. HR-QOL, employment and disability were assessed in SS patients regularly attending the University Medical Center Groningen (n = 235). HR-QOL, employment and disability were evaluated with the Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36) and an employment and disability questionnaire. Results were compared with Dutch population data (matched for sex and age). Demographical and clinical data associated with HR-QOL, employment and disability were assessed.

Results. Response rate was 83%. SS patients scored lower on HR-QOL than the general Dutch population. sSS patients scored lower on physical functioning, bodily pain and general health than pSS patients. Predictors for reduced HR-QOL were fatigue, tendomyalgia, articular involvement, use of artificial saliva, use of anti-depressants, comorbidity, male sex and eligibility for disability compensation (DC). Employment was lower and DC rates were higher in SS patients compared with the Dutch population.

Conclusion. SS has a large impact on HR-QOL, employment and disability.

KEY WORDS: Sjögren's syndrome, Quality of life, SF-36, Employment, Disability

*Jiska M. Meijer and Petra M. Meiners equally contributed to this work.

Submitted 16 October 2008; revised version accepted 24 April 2009.
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