Seasonal Variation of the onset of presentations in patients with sarcoidosis presented with BHL alone
2005 meeting of the Annual European Respiratory Society Congress, Denmark, 1 - 04 September 2005, pp.1-2, (Full Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
- Country: Denmark
- Page Numbers: pp.1-2
- Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Sarcoidosis is a chronic disease with an unknown etiology. Our aim in this study is to try to find some clues about the etiology. We evaluated the pattern of seasonality of sarcoidosis in symptomatic, newly diagnosed patients by all cases, genders, and age. 492 consecutive patients with sarcoidosis who presented different clinical symptoms were included in this study. On chest X-ray examinations, 185 patients showed BHL alone. The demographic features, presenting clinical features, course of the disease, initial diagnostic methods and the month and the age at the initial diagnosis for each patient were analyzed. Roger‘s test for cyclic variation was used to determine the significance of any seasonal variation of incidence. Results: The distribution of cumulative monthly presentations for patients with BHL alone peaked in April and was lowest in October, November, and December (p < 0.001). In controls (stage 0, 2, 3, and 4), presentation of sarcoidosis peaked in May and was lowest in August (p < 0.001). The seasonal pattern of patients with and without BHL alone was also influenced by some age groups and by both genders (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The observed seasonality led us to consider that a common environmental factor (s) play an important role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. Some differences in the amplitude of the seasonal variation by age and by both genders increase the possibility of interactions among age, gender, and the disease.