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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 21, 2013; 19(31): 5131-5137
Published online Aug 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i31.5131
Published online Aug 21, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i31.5131
Connective tissue diseases in primary biliary cirrhosis: A population-based cohort study
Li Wang, Feng-Chun Zhang, Hua Chen, Xuan Zhang, Dong Xu, Yong-Zhe Li, Qian Wang, Yun-Jiao Yang, Fang Kong, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China
Li-Xia Gao, Department of Rheumatology, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Ke Wang, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China
Author contributions: Zhang FC designed the study; Wang L, Zhang X, Xu D, Li YZ, Wang Q and Gao LX enrolled the subjects; Wang K recalculated the data; Wang L, Yang YJ and Kong F analyzed the data; Wang L wrote the manuscript; Zhang FC and Chen H revised the manuscript.
Supported by Grants from the Research Special Fund for Public Welfare Industry of Health, No. 201202004; the National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for “Significant New Drugs Development”, No. 2012ZX09303006-002; and the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, No. 2011AA020111
Correspondence to: Feng-Chun Zhang, MD, Key Laboratory of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ministry of Education, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 41 Da Mu Cang, Western District, Beijing 100032, China. zhangfccra@yahoo.com.cn
Telephone: +86-10-69158792 Fax: +86-10-69158794
Received: April 6, 2013
Revised: June 3, 2013
Accepted: July 18, 2013
Published online: August 21, 2013
Revised: June 3, 2013
Accepted: July 18, 2013
Published online: August 21, 2013
Core Tip
Core tip: This study demonstrated that primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a complicated disease that not only involves the liver but also often coexists with other connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Evaluation of our cohort of 322 Chinese PBC patients showed that Sjögren's syndrome was the CTD that most frequently coexisted with PBC. In addition, it was also shown that when CTDs coexist with PBC, the clinical features and the disease course are different from those in patients with PBC alone. Our collective results suggest that Chinese patients with PBC may benefit from assessment of systemic involvement and screening for CTDs through detection of autoantibodies.