Headache in primary Sjogren's syndrome:: a prevalence study

Objectives - To determine the prevalence of headache in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) and to examine the relationship between headache types and clinical, serologic features of the disease. Methods - The study enclosed 133 patients with the diagnoses of pSS and 97 healthy controls. A questionnaire designed to assess the presence of headache and if present to classify it according to the criteria of the International Headache Society was used. Results - In 133 of the pSS patients evaluated, 104 had headache. No association was present between types of headache and the clinical and laboratory manifestations of the disease. Both migraine and tension-type headache were more common in patients with pSS when compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001). Conclusions - The high prevalence of migraine in pSS patients might be explained by a vascular headache triggered by immuno-mediated disease activity without an obvious clinic or laboratory marker.