PREVALENCE OF FUNCTIONAL BOWEL DISEASE IN THE LIGHT OF DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA OF ROME IV FUNCTIONAL BOWEL DISEASES IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY SJOGREN SYNDROME

Objectives: Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) is a female-dominated disease in which lymphocytes play a critical role in the etiopathogenesis and manifest by xerostomia and xerophthalmia. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of functional bowel disease (FBD) according to Roma IV criteria in patients with primary SS (PSS). Materials and Methods: 52 patients who admitted to Kayseri City Hospital Rheumatology Polyclinics between June 2018 - September 2019 and classified as PSS according to 2016 ACR / EULAR PSS classification criteria were included in the study. Subjects were questioned about FBD, and who had more than 10% weight loss in the last six months, new changes in defecation habits, presence of early age intestinal malignancy in his family history, nausea/vomiting and acute abdominal findings were excluded due to the possibility of alarm symptoms/organic pathology. The control group was the relatives of the patients who applied to the Hematology Outpatient Clinic, and they were selected according to age and gender. Inquiries were made using a questionnaire, the presence of FBD and the type of FBD were noted, and the incidence rate in patients with PSS and healthy controls was reported as a percent. Results: In PSS patients, 24/52 (46.15%) patients had FBD and 17/75 (22.67%) healthy controls had FBD [p <0.05; Odds Ratio 2,924 (95% confidence interval 1.35-6.30)]. Irritable Bowel Syndrome ratio in PSS was found to be 18/52 (34.61%) and 14/75 (18.67%) in healthy subjects [p = 0.044; Odds Ratio: 2,307 (95% confidence interval 1.02 - 5.21)]. Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that the prevalence of FBD, especially IBS, was higher among patients with PSS compared to healthy individuals.