CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FEATURES OF SJOGRENS-SYNDROME IN YOUNG-WOMEN WITH PREVIOUS POSTPARTUM THYROIDITIS

Objective. To eludicate the possible development of Sjorgren's syndrom e in young women with previous postpartum thyroiditis, a clinical and laboratory case-control followup study was undertaken. Methods. Forty female patients (mean age 36 years) with well documented postpartum th yroiditis 5 years previously and 30 healthy mothers (mean age 36 years ) who all had undergone normal partus an average of 5 years previously , were included in the study. Results. Symptoms of dry eyes, caries, a rthralgias, swollen joints and fatigue were reported significantly mor e often in women with previous postpartum thyroiditis compared with he althy mothers of the same age (p < 0.05). Using an ELISA with purified (SSA)Ro and (SSB)La proteins derived from a human cell line as antige ns, 34% of the women were anti-SSB positive and 46% were anti-SSA posi tive at followup. Furthermore, 15/35 women with a history of postpartu m thyroiditis (43%) had objectively impaired tear and/or saliva produc tion; 5 of 24 investigated women had keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) and 2 of 7 salivary gland biopsies showed chronic lymphocytic sialaden itis. Three women (8.6%) had the combination of KCS and xerostomia.