Do age at disease diagnosis and age at symptom onset affect cognitive functions in Sjögren's syndrome?

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the age of onset of disease symptoms, the age at diagnosis, and cognitive function in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Methods: Sixty-two patients diagnosed with pSS who presented to the Sakarya Training and Research Hospital Internal Medicine Rheumatology outpatient clinic between November 2021 and November 2022 were included in the study. Parameters such as age at diagnosis, age at symptom onset, fibromyalgia status, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score, insomnia, fatigue, learning disability, and number of comorbidities were recorded. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score was used to evaluate cognitive function. The scale ranges from 0 to 30, with a threshold value set at 21. Scores of 21 and above were considered normal. Independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests were used for data comparison. Results: Patients with MoCA values less than 21 were significantly older. In the study, the age at symptom onset for patients with a MoCA score