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Seasonality of the onset of symptoms, Tuberculin test anergy and Kveim positive reaction in a large cohort of patients with sarcoidosis
Author(s) -
DEMIRKOK Sevtap Sipahi,
BASARANOGLU Metin,
ÇOKER Elif,
KARAYEL Tuncer
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
respirology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1440-1843
pISSN - 1323-7799
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2007.01062.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sarcoidosis , etiology , tuberculin , cohort , tuberculosis , extrinsic allergic alveolitis , dermatology , immunology , lung , pathology
Background and objectives: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown aetiology and pathogenesis. This study evaluated the seasonal variation in the onset of symptoms, Tuberculin anergy and Kveim positive reaction in a cohort of 492 patients with sarcoidosis and in a subgroup of 248 patients with known Kveim test responses. Methods: The medical records of 492 patients with sarcoidosis were retrospectively reviewed. Roger’s test for cyclic variation was used to assess the statistical significance of the observed seasonal variation. Results: For all sarcoidosis patients ( n = 492) the onset of symptoms was most frequent in spring (61.8%) and least frequent in summer (31.7%) ( P < 0.001). For patients with Tuberculin anergy ( n = 364) the onset of symptoms was most frequent in spring and least frequent in autumn ( P < 0.001); there was no seasonal variation among Tuberculin positive patients ( n = 128). Of those patients with a Kveim test result ( n = 248), the onset of symptoms was most frequent in spring and least frequent in summer ( P < 0.001); there was no seasonal variation for patients with a negative Kveim results ( n = 50 patients). Conclusions: The onset of the symptoms was most frequent in spring and least frequent in the second half of the year (summer or autumn) in patients with sarcoidosis, Tuberculin anergy and a positive Kveim reaction. The significance of this finding in relation to aetiology and clinical utility needs to be further assessed.