Sjögren's syndrome (SS) often leads to disease-related body defects and functional impairments, which may result in the body image disturbances (BID) of patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the severity and predictors of BID among SS patients. Two hundred and thirty-one SS patients [mean (IQR) age: 51 (42-58); females: 94.4%] and 224 age and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional study. Questionnaires were applied: body image disturbance questionnaire (BIDQ), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), fatigue severity scale (FSS), the 10-cm pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14), the ocular surface disease index (OSDI), the social support rate scale (SSRS). Independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Chi-square test, spearman rank correlation, and stepwise linear regression were performed by SPSS version 20.0 to analyze these data. In 231 SS patients, the mean of the overall BIDQ score was 1.80 ± 1.21, and SS patients had significantly higher scores in each domain of BIDQ compared with healthy controls (p < 0.05). The stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that high BIDQ score was predicted by severe anxiety (β = 0.081; p < 0.001), high disease activity (β = 0.038; p < 0.001) and poor oral health (β = 0.017; p = 0.007) in SS patients. Patients with SS suffer from severe BID and it is necessary for rheumatologists to pay more attention to SS patients' body image disturbance, especially those with high disease activity, severe anxiety, and poor oral health to improve patients' quality of life.
Keywords: Sjögren Syndrome; body image disturbances; disease activity; psychological status.