2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code M35.0

Specific Coding Applicable to Sjogren syndrome

Non-specific codes like M35.0 require more digits to indicate the appropriate level of specificity. Consider using any of the following ICD-10-CM codes with a higher level of specificity when coding for sjogren syndrome:

Patient Education

Sjogren's Syndrome

What is Sjogren's syndrome?

Sjogren's syndrome, also called Sjogren's disease, is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease. When you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs by mistake. In Sjogren's syndrome, your immune system attacks the glands that make moisture in the eyes, mouth, and other parts of the body. This causes a dry mouth and dry eyes. You may have dryness in other places that need moisture, such as your nose, throat, and skin. Sjogren's can also affect other parts of the body, including your joints, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, digestive organs, and nerves.

What causes Sjogren's syndrome?

Normally, your immune system protects the body from infection and disease. But with Sjogren's syndrome and other autoimmune diseases, your immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs. Researchers don't know for sure what causes the immune system to do this. But they think that it is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Studies have linked Sjogren's syndrome to gene changes in several genes. Some researchers also think that the disease may be triggered by something in the environment. For example, they think that one possible trigger could be a previous infection with a virus or bacteria.

Who is more likely to develop Sjogren's syndrome?

Most people with Sjogren's syndrome are women. You can get it at any age, but it is most common in people in their 40s and 50s.

Sjogren's syndrome is more common in people who have other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This is known as a secondary form of Sjogren's syndrome. People who don't have another autoimmune disease have a primary form of Sjogren's syndrome.

What are the symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome?

Sjogren's syndrome may have different effects on the body. Not everyone will have the same symptoms. Some people have cycles of mild and then severe symptoms.

The two main symptoms are:

• Dry eyes. Your eyes may burn or itch or feel like they have sand in them. Sometimes your vision may be blurry, or you could be bothered by bright lights.
• Dry mouth. Your tongue and your throat may feel dry. You might have trouble swallowing, speaking, and tasting.

Sjogren's syndrome can also affect other parts of the body, causing symptoms such as:

• Joint and muscle pain
• Dry skin
• Rashes on the skin of hands or feet
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
• Vaginal dryness
• Dry cough that doesn't go away
• Fatigue that doesn't go away

How is Sjogren's syndrome diagnosed?

There is no single test for Sjogren's syndrome. To find out if you have it, your provider:

• Will ask about your medical history and symptoms.
• Will do a physical exam, which includes checking for signs of dry mouth and signs of related autoimmune diseases.
• May order tests, including:
  • Eye tests to see if you produce a normal amount of tears and to find out if your eyes have been damaged by dryness.
  • Salivary gland tests to measure how much saliva your mouth produces. They could include imaging tests and a biopsy.
  • Blood tests.

What are the treatments for Sjogren's syndrome?

There is no cure for Sjogren's syndrome. Treatment focuses on relieving your symptoms. The treatments can be different for each person, depending on which parts of the body are affected. They may include:

• Eye drops (artificial tears) or ointments to relieve dryness in the eyes.
• Saliva substitutes.
• Prescription medicines that cause your salivary glands to make more saliva.
• A minor procedure that places small plugs the tear duct in the corners of the eyes. The plugs block your tears from draining so they stay in your eyes longer.
• Medicines to help with other symptoms caused by Sjogren's syndrome, such as medicines for pain and inflammation.
• Medicines that suppress (weaken) your immune system (for severe cases).

You can also try to relieve some of your symptoms by sucking on sugar-free candy, drinking water often, increasing the humidity in your room, and not smoking. Because having a dry mouth can raise your risk of cavities, it's important to take good care of your teeth and see your dentist regularly.

Sjögren syndrome

Sjögren syndrome is a disorder whose main features are dry eyes and a dry mouth. The condition typically develops gradually beginning in middle adulthood but can occur at any age.

Sjögren syndrome is classified as an autoimmune disorder, one of a large group of conditions that occur when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues and organs. In Sjögren syndrome, the immune system primarily attacks the glands that produce tears (the lacrimal glands) and saliva (the salivary glands), impairing the glands' ability to secrete these fluids.

Dry eyes may lead to itching, burning, a feeling of sand in the eyes, blurry vision, or intolerance of bright or fluorescent lighting. A dry mouth can feel chalky or full of cotton, and affected individuals may have difficulty speaking, tasting food, or swallowing. Because saliva helps protect the teeth and the tissues of the oral cavity, people with Sjögren syndrome are at increased risk of tooth decay and infections in the mouth.

In most people with Sjögren syndrome, dry eyes and dry mouth are the primary features of the disorder, and general health and life expectancy are largely unaffected. However, in some cases the immune system also attacks and damages other organs and tissues. This complication is known as extraglandular involvement. Affected individuals may develop inflammation in connective tissues, which provide strength and flexibility to structures throughout the body. Disorders involving connective tissue inflammation are sometimes called rheumatic conditions. In Sjögren syndrome, extraglandular involvement may result in painful inflammation of the joints and muscles; dry, itchy skin and skin rashes; chronic cough; a hoarse voice; kidney and liver problems; numbness or tingling in the hands and feet; and, in women, vaginal dryness. Prolonged and extreme tiredness (fatigue) severe enough to affect activities of daily living may also occur in this disorder. A small number of people with Sjögren syndrome develop lymphoma, a blood-related cancer that causes tumor formation in the lymph nodes but can spread to other organs.

Some individuals who are first diagnosed with another rheumatic disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus, later develop the dry eyes and dry mouth characteristic of Sjögren syndrome. Other autoimmune disorders can also develop after the onset of Sjögren syndrome. In all, about half of all individuals with Sjögren syndrome also have another autoimmune disorder.

Code History

• FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
• FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
• FY 2022 - Code Updated, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
• New Description: Sjogren syndrome
• Previous Description: Sjogren syndrome
• FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
• FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
• FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
• FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
• FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
• FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.