Childhood Sjögren’s

While often considered a disease of adulthood, Sjögren’s can and does occur in children. Part of the challenge of diagnosing these children is the frequent lack of classic Sjögren’s symptoms of profound eye and mouth dryness. Because Sjögren’s often presents differently in children than in adults, the criteria developed and often used to diagnose Sjögren’s in adults are not adequate to diagnose Sjögren’s in children. This may be due to the difficulty in performing some of the testing procedures in young or anxious children. Also, children likely represent an earlier stage of disease and lack the degree of damage that develops after decades of dryness and inflammation, so even when tests are performed, the results may not be abnormal to the same degree as in adults. Usually seen in girls, the presentation is usually subtle and mostly glandular. Myofascial pain and constitutional symptoms of fatigue and aching are prominent features, along with dry eyes and mouth. There is no specific treatment for childhood-onset Sjögren’s and the prognosis is variable.