Many autoimmune diseases occur concomitantly with celiac disease. We investigated prospectively the occurrence of celiac disease and small-bowel mucosal inflammation in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
A total of 34 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and 28 controls underwent small bowel biopsy. Villous morphology, jejunal intraepithelial lymphocytes, and mucosal HLA-DR were evaluated and DQA and DQB alleles, serum antiendomysial, and antigliadin antibodies were examined.
Five (14.7%) of 34 Sjögren's syndrome patients were found to have celiac disease. The density of jejunal intraepithelial gammadelta+ T cells was increased in all celiac and in four nonceliac patients. All celiac patients, 69% of nonceliac Sjögren's syndrome patients, and 11% of control subjects showed enhanced HLA-DR expression (p < 0.001). HLA DQ2 was present in 19 (56%) patients with Sjögren's syndrome, including all five with celiac disease.
The findings show a close association between Sjögren's syndrome and celiac disease. Even among nonceliac patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome, an ongoing inflammation is often present in the small bowel mucosa.