Photo Credit: IsiMS

The following is a summary of “Eye as a window to oral and pain symptoms in Sjögren’s disease,” published in the April 2025 issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology by Baeza et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the relationship between dry eye (DE) metrics and oral and pain manifestations of Sjögren’s disease (SjD).  

They analyzed data from the Sjögren’s International Collaborative Clinical Alliance dataset, which included 1,541 individuals diagnosed with SjD based on the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations between 13 DE features and various extraocular metrics.  

The results showed a mean age of 52±13.5 years, with 45% identifying as white and 94% as women. Individuals with SjD exhibited diverse DE symptoms and signs, with about one-third reporting significant spontaneous and/or evoked pain using various descriptors and triggers, while nearly half had low tear production. Variability was also observed in oral and pain complaints, with extraocular pain symptoms present in approximately one-third of the population. Different ocular phenotypes correlated with distinct extraocular findings. Grittiness or scratchiness (OR=1.6), blurred vision (OR=1.4), and low tear production (OR=1.8) were strongly associated with oral dryness (“Does your mouth feel dry?”). In contrast, burning or stinging (OR=1.6), discomfort in low humidity (OR=1.2), and the absence of DE signs, including normal tear production (OR=0.7) and lack of ocular surface staining (OR=0.6), aligned with pain outside the eye (“Do you experience persistent or frequent burning discomfort?”).  

Investigators concluded that heterogeneity in SjD ocular presentations predicted extraocular disease features and suggested divergent neurosensory processes as underlying mechanisms. 

Source: bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2025/04/02/bjo-2024-326748