[Changes in the respiratory function in Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome].

Tests for lung function assessment were performed in 36 subjects (34 women, 2 men; mean age 56 +/- 2.2 years) presenting with Sjögren's syndrome of 8.4 +/- 1.0 years duration. The tests used in the study were: spirography with measurement of residual volume, flow volume curve, total dynamic resistances, diffusing capacity of the lung (steady state and breath hold methods), estimation of alveolar ventilation and, in some subjects, dynamic lung compliance. Sjögren's syndrome was assessed by anatomo pathological methods and divided into primary (n = 9) and secondary (n = 27). Secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SGS II) was associated mainly with a connective tissue disease (rheumatoid arthritis in 23 cases). The results of lung function tests showed distal airway obstruction associated with a decrease in lung diffusing capacity due to functional disturbance of the alveolar capillary membrane. Moreover, the greater alteration of lung function observed in SGS II could be explained by: a direct correlation between duration of SGS and alteration of lung function, and an alteration of the parietal ventilatory mechanics, at least in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis.