CLINICAL FEATURES AND THEIR INCIDENCE IN SJÖGREN'S PATIENTS WITH A HISTORY OF COVID-19: A SINGLE-CENTER RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether patients diagnosed with Sjögren's Disease (SjD) after the COVID-19 pandemic exhibited different clinical features compared to those diagnosed before the pandemic. METHODS: A total of 24 medical records from the Oral Medicine Service of Araraquara dental school - UNESP were analyzed. Patients were diagnosed according to ACR/EULAR criteria. Fourteen patients diagnosed BETWEEN 2022 AND 2024, all with a history of COVID-19, were compared to ten patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2019. DATA on sociodemographic characteristics, systemic comorbidities, subjective symptoms, and histopathological findings were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: An increase in the number of SjD diagnoses was observed after 2022. The post-COVID group showed a significantly higher frequency of anxiety, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, genital dryness, dysphagia, insomnia, reflux, and oral burning. No significant differences were found in objective histopathological findings between the groups. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection may be associated with an increased prevalence of subjective symptoms in patients with SjD. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes and control groups are warranted to clarify these associations and their clinical relevance.