To determine whether positive anticentromere antibody (ACA) serology affects the severity of sicca symptoms in patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS).
Evaluation to detect subjective and objective sicca symptoms included questionnaires, physical examination, and pathology. Cases of pSS were classified according to the 2002 American-European Consensus Group (AECG) criteria. All patients were evaluated for presence of anti-Ro, anti-La, and ACA serology. Patients with pSS were categorized into ACA+ SS and ACA-SS. The groups were compared for measures of severity of oral and ocular sicca.
The pSS group had 446 patients, of whom 26 were ACA+ SS. Subjective ocular sicca measured 7.0 ± 2.4 (out of 10) in ACA+ SS and 6.4 ± 2.6 in ACA-SS (p = 0.197). Objective ocular sicca measured 3.2 mm ± 1.8 mm/5 min in ACA+ SS and 4.2 mm ± 4.4 mm/5 min in ACA-SS (p = 0.038). Subjective oral sicca measured 8.5 ± 1.4 in ACA+ SS and 6.7 ± 2.4 in ACA-SS (p < 0.001). Objective oral sicca measured 0.1 ml ± 0.2 ml/15 min in ACA+ SS and 0.4 ml ± 1.0 ml/15 min in ACA-SS (p < 0.001). Only 35% of ACA+ patients with SS were anti-Ro-positive or anti-La-positive compared with 77% of the ACA-patients with SS (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in minor salivary gland fibrosis or focus scores between ACA+ SS and ACA-patients with SS.
ACA+ SS is associated with more severe objective ocular sicca and more severe subjective and objective oral sicca compared to ACA-SS. The majority of ACA+ patients with SS meet AECG criteria for pSS despite negative serology for anti-Ro/La antibodies.