Salivary Flow Rate in Patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome: Correlations with Salivary Gland Ultrasound Findings and Biomarkers of Disease Activity

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a slowly progressive, chronic autoimmune inflammatory condition characterized by the affliction of the exocrine glands, with issues that derive from it markedly decreasing the quality of life of these patients. Salivary gland involvement can be identified through imaging methods. Among them, salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) is used as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in pSS. The aim of the present study was to assess the salivary flow rate and correlations between it and SGUS findings and markers of pSS activity. A total of 112 patients with pSS and 56 healthy subjects were included in this study. All patients underwent investigations including the measurement of serum autoantibodies, salivary flow rate determination, and ultrasonographic evaluation. SGUS modifications had a strong inverse correlation with salivary flow (r = -68.002, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) and a positive, strong correlation with IL-6 and Beta-2-microglobulin (r = -0.78 and r = -0.84, respectively, <i>p</i> < 0.001 in both cases). The SGUS findings were also strongly and positively correlated with the ESSDAI (r = -0.88, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) and Focus scores (r = -0.82, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). SGUS represents a non-invasive means of assessing the state of the salivary glands and, implicitly, the salivary flow of patients, offering valuable insights into disease progression and steps that can be taken in order to improve patients' quality of life.