Decreased Bilirubin is Associated With Disease Activity of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine the serum bilirubin levels in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients and to explore clinical significanceof bilirubin in pSS.Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of electronic medical records was performed in 97 pSS patients (12 males, 85 females; mean age54±15 years; range, 15 to 91 years) and 100 healthy controls (17 males, 83 females; mean age 51±14 years; range, 25 to 75 years). Serum bilirubin andother variables were compared between pSS patients and healthy controls. The European League Against Rheumatism Sjögren's syndrome diseaseactivity index (ESSDAI) was used to assess the disease activity of pSS, and ESSDAI ≥5 was defined as moderate to high activity. The relationshipbetween bilirubin and ESSDAI was analyzed by Spearman's correlation analysis and multivariable logistic regression.Results: The median level of serum bilirubin was 9 μmol/L (interquartile range (IQR), 7-13 μmol/L) in pSS patients, much lower than healthy controls(median, IQR, 13, 10-18 μmol/L) (p