Patients with autoimmune diseases often present with olfactory impairment. The aim of the study was to assess the olfactory functions of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome and to correlate these findings with their disease activity. Fifty-two patients with primary SS and 52 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects were included. All of them underwent clinical and laboratory examination. Olfactory functions were evaluated using olfactory function assessment by computerized testing including the three stages of smell: threshold, identification, and memory of the different odors. All the olfactory scores (olfactory threshold, identification, and memory) in patients with pSS were significantly decreased than the control group (all P < 0.01). Patients had higher proportion of anosmia (13.5% vs 0%) and hyposmia (19.2% vs 11.5%) than controls (χ2 = 10.526, P < 0.01). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that ESSDAI and the symptoms of dryness, fatigue, and limb pain had negative influence on olfactory function (adjusted R2 = 0.381, 0.387, 0.513, and 0.614, respectively). ESSPRI showed significantly negative association with olfactory threshold, identification, memory, and total scores. Olfactory identification and memory scores were decreased in pSS patients with thyroid dysfunction or hypocomplementemia (P < 0.05). Smell threshold scores were decreased in pSS patients with anti-SSA antibody or anti-nuclear antibody compared with those without those autoantibodies (P < 0.01). Our findings indicate that olfactory functions are impaired in pSS patients. There was a close correlation between olfactory dysfunction and disease severity and immunological abnormalities. Immune and systemic inflammation dysregulation might play a role in the mechanism of this defect.

中文翻译：

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原发性干燥综合征患者的嗅觉障碍及其与器官受累和免疫异常的相关性

患有自身免疫性疾病的患者通常会出现嗅觉障碍。该研究的目的是评估原发性干燥综合征患者的嗅觉功能，并将这些发现与他们的疾病活动相关联。包括 52 名原发性 SS 患者和 52 名性别和年龄匹配的健康对照受试者。他们都接受了临床和实验室检查。嗅觉功能通过计算机化测试使用嗅觉功能评估进行评估，包括嗅觉的三个阶段：不同气味的阈值、识别和记忆。pSS患者的所有嗅觉评分（嗅觉阈值、识别力和记忆力）均显着低于对照组（均P < 0.01）。患者的嗅觉丧失（13.5% vs 0%）和嗅觉减退（19.2% vs 11. 5%) 比对照 (χ2 = 10.526, P < 0.01)。多变量回归分析显示ESSDAI和干燥、疲劳和四肢疼痛的症状对嗅觉功能有负面影响（调整后的R2分别为0.381、0.387、0.513和0.614）。ESSPRI 与嗅觉阈值、识别、记忆和总分显着负相关。有甲状腺功能障碍或低补体血症的 pSS 患者的嗅觉识别和记忆评分降低（P < 0.05）。与没有这些自身抗体的患者相比，有抗 SSA 抗体或抗核抗体的 pSS 患者的嗅觉阈值评分降低（P < 0.01）。我们的研究结果表明 pSS 患者的嗅觉功能受损。嗅觉功能障碍与疾病严重程度和免疫异常之间存在密切相关性。免疫和全身炎症失调可能在这种缺陷的机制中发挥作用。