Beschreibung:
Background:Dryness, fatigue, and pain are common clinical manifestations assessed by EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI)-Dryness, -Fatigue, -Pain scores in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). In addition, depression is also seen in these patients owing to the pattern of the chronic disease.Objectives:The aim of the study was to assess the complex interactions among Depression status, Illness Perception, and prominent clinical manifestations evaluated by the ESSPRI (Dryness, Fatigue, and Pain) in patients with pSS.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 111 patients with pSS (M/F: 5/106; mean age: 52.9 ± 12.01 years) were included. The data were collected by clinical examination and a questionnaire regarding patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). Unstimulated (U-WSFR) and stimulated (S-WSFR) whole saliva flow rates of patients were calculated as ml/min. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Illness Perception Questionnaire-R (IPQ-R) and EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index were filled by patients. Increases in HADS score and subgroup scores of ESSPRI (Dryness, Fatigue and Pain) and IPQ-R dimensions regarding Identity, Consequences, and Emotional reflected poor conditions for patients. In addition, patients scored their disease activity (0: inactive-100: the worst activity) by using 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). After preliminary analysis, a mediation analysis was used to evaluate the relations among these variables.Results:In the study, ESSPRI-Dryness score (6,27±2,79) was associated with U-WSFR (0,40±0,57) and S-WSFR (1,04±0,86),(r:-0,4 p=0.000; r:-0,3 p=0.004). Moreover, patients reported disease activity score (48,78±26,67) was related to U-WSFR (r: -0,3 p=0.026) as well as Consequence (19,12±5,47) and Emotional (19,54±7,02) scores of IPQ-R questionnaire (r: 0,3 p=0.035; r: 0,3 p=0.014).In IPQ-R questionnaire, Identity score (8,04±3,1) reflecting number of symptoms that patients experienced due to their illness was correlated with scores of ESSPRI-Fatigue (5,29±2,97), ESSPRI-Pain (5,18±3,01), HADS-Anxiety (11,67±5,55), HADS-Depression (9,2±4,98) in the study (p<0.05).In the mediation analysis, Identity score was directly mediated by ESSPRI-Fatigue score (p=0.0093) and indirectly mediated by HADS-Depression score (p=0.0011).A bootstrap analysis with 5000 replications was applied to estimate mediation effect to generate 95% CI. Percentile bootstrap of HADS-Depression was found to be an effective mediator for Identity score based on 5000 bootstrap sample.Conclusion:Both depression status and fatigue affected Identity score reflecting the number of symptoms poorly. Considering this complex relationship in disease activity assessment may positively affect disease outcomes.Disclosure of Interests:None declared