• Jocelyne Rostron, Simon Rogers, Lesley Longman, Sue Kaney, and E Anne Field.
• Sjögen's Syndrome Research Group, Department of Clinical Dental Sciences, The University of Liverpool.
• Gerodontology. 2002 Jul 1; 19 (1): 53-9.

ObjectiveTo compare the health status of groups of Primary Sjögren's and Xerostomia patients, using the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 (SF-36). The SF-36 is a generic measure, divided into eight domains, used in the assessment of health-related quality of life.Patients And MethodsThe SF-36 was given to 2 groups: Group 1 comprised 43 patients diagnosed with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (1 degrees SS) and an unstimulated whole salivary flow rate (UFR) of <0.1 ml/min). Group 2 (n = 40) reported Xerostomia but had an UFR >0.2 ml/min. Sub groups of patients in Groups 1 and 2 were compared with community normative data, for the SF-36.ResultsThere were trends to suggest lower SF36 scores for 1 degrees SS patients but there were no significant differences between the mean domain scores of Groups 1 and 2. 1 degrees SS and Xerostomia patients registered lower mean scores across all 8 domains, compared with normative community data.ConclusionThe SF-36 was unable to detect significant differences between subjects with 1 degrees SS and Xerostomia but a larger sample size is required to confirm these findings. The results of this limited study suggest that a disease-specific measure is required to assess the impact 1 degrees SS on health-related Quality of life (QOL).

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