Is there a link between inflammation and abnormal lipoprotein profile in Sjögren's syndrome?

Objectives: To investigate the lipoprotein profile of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and its association with laboratory tests, including markers of inflammation.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study among patients with pSS and healthy controls. We analyzed the lipoprotein profile of 73 pSS patients compared to 65 healthy individuals in the control group. We further evaluated possible associations between dyslipidemia in pSS patients and laboratory parameters including: hypergammaglobulinemia, autoantibodies [antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-Ro, anti-La], and acute-phase reactants [C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)].

Results: Patients and controls were comparable regarding the demographic variables. Lipoprotein profile was similar between pSS patients and controls: total cholesterol (204.0+/-43.39 versus 206.5+/-42.76 mg/mL, P=0.73), LDL fraction (131.6+/-37.38 versus 130.62+/-38.24 mg/dL, P=0.88) and HDL fraction (49.7+/-13.5 versus 51+/-11.5mg/dL, P=0.56), triglycerides (129.3+/-81.0 versus 116.8+/-53.5mg/dL, P=0.29). However, patients with pSS had a strong trend to present dyslipidemia when compared to healthy individuals (76.7% versus 61.5%, P=0.06). The presence of dyslipidemia in pSS was associated with increased ESR (44.05+/-28.07 versus 28.28+/-18.00, P=0.03), but not with other laboratory markers of the disease and inflammation.

Discussion/conclusion: pSS patients frequently present abnormal lipid profile, which are associated with higher levels of ESR. Thus, similar to other systemic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), lipid profile should be evaluated in pSS patients, with the aim of initiating specific therapeutic strategy for prevention of cardiovascular events.