Gut dysbiosis is prevailing in Sjögren’s syndrome and is related to dry eye severity

Objective To investigate gut dysbiosis in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) or dry eye syndrome (DES) compared to normal subjects and to evaluate the association of dysbiosis with dry eye severity. Methods 10 subjects with SS, 14 subjects with DES and 12 controls were enrolled. Corneal staining, tear break up time (TBUT) and tear secretion were evaluated. Bacterial genomic 16s rRNA from stool samples were analyzed. Main outcomes were microbiome compositional differences among groups and their correlation to dry eye signs. Results Gut microbiome analysis revealed significant compositional differences in SS compared to controls and DES. In phylum, Bacteriodetes increased, while Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and Actinobacteria decreased (p