Association of Smoking and Obesity on the Risk of Developing Primary Sjögren Syndrome: A Population-based Cohort Study

Objective. To explore the role of smoking and obesity in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS). Methods. Olmsted County (Minnesota, USA) residents (n = 106) diagnosed with pSS from 2000 to 2015 were compared to 3 controls without pSS and matched for age and sex who were randomly selected from Olmsted County residents. Results. Current smokers were less likely to be pSS cases (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14–0.85), while there was no association between former smoking and case/control status (OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.80–2.03) compared to never smokers. Smoking status was not associated with antinuclear antibody, anti-SSA, anti-SSB, or rheumatoid factor positivity (p > 0.05). OR for obesity was 0.79 (95% CI 0.48–1.30). Conclusion. In this population-based study, current smoking was inversely associated with case/control status, while body mass index lacked any association.