Sjögren’s [SHOW-grins] disease is a chronic, systemic autoimmune condition that can affect many different parts of your body. Some symptoms you can see and feel, while other disease activity may be harder to notice (such as organ damage).
If left untreated, Sjögren’s disease can slowly get worse over time. In some cases, this can lead to damage to your lungs, kidneys, and other internal organs.
While some symptoms reported by patients, such as dry eyes (95%), dry mouth (93%), and joint pain (82%), are more common than others, everyone's experience with Sjögren's is different. In a survey of over 3500 adults living with Sjögren's disease, 48 different symptoms were reported over the course of a year.
Disease activity is a measurement of how much a disease is affecting your whole body. It looks at the symptoms you can see and feel, along with the underlying activity that’s harder to notice.
Your doctor may use different kinds of lab tests or review your clinical history to measure the disease activity. In clinical trials, doctors usually measure disease activity in people with Sjögren’s disease by using a tool called ESSDAI.
ESSDAI, EULAR Sjögren’s syndrome disease activity index; EULAR, European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology.
How Sjögren’s disease can affect your whole body
These signs and symptoms of Sjögren's are less common and affect up to 40% of patients.
Check all the ways Sjögren’s disease may be affecting you
Learn more about what may cause symptoms and how to manage them
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