TABLE 1

Baseline demographics and clinical characteristics of sarcoidosis patients with hypothyroidism as compared with patients with no hypothyroidism#

HypothyroidismNo hypothyroidismp-value
Demographics
 Patients5383284
 Age years45.1±12.543.1±13.70.001
 Duration of disease years12.3±10.811.6±10.90.136
 Women486/538 (90)2326/3284 (71)<0.001
 Race
  African American41/530 (8)667/3222 (21)<0.001
  White480/530 (91)2521/3222 (78)<0.001
  Other races+10/530 (2)74/3222 (2)0.55
Healthcare insurance
 Private health insurance332/531 (62.5)1816/3256 (56)0.004
 Government insurance211/531 (40)1078/3256 (33)0.003
 No health insurance55/531 (10)621/3256 (19)<0.001
Graduated college or university284/473 (60)1394/2594 (54)0.01
Income USD0.50
 <35000127/442 (29)656/2513 (26)
 35000–99999197/442 (44.5)1173/2513 (47)
 >100000118/442 (26.5)684/2513 (27)
Healthcare providers seen before sarcoidosis diagnosis was made§
 Endocrinologist115/538 (21)241/3284 (7)<0.001
 Primary care provider436/538 (81)2623/3284 (80)0.53
 Other specialists451/538 (83)2569/3284 (78)0.003
Family history of sarcoidosis81/446 (18)476/2707 (18)0.77
Ever admitted to hospital in relation to sarcoidosis185/498 (37)1158/2995 (39)0.52
Sarcoidosis-specific therapyƒ
 Steroids416/536 (78)2356/3262 (72)0.009
 Cytotoxic agents254/382 (66.5)1339/2076 (64.5)0.45
 Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors79/312 (25)376/1712 (22)0.19
 Others38/291 (13)142/1616 (9)0.007

Data are presented as n, mean±sd or n/N total (%), unless otherwise stated. #: Missing values were excluded for each variable. : Age when the diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made or was extremely likely is reported here. Duration is based on time difference in years between age at time of diagnosis and age at time of survey answering. +: Other races include American Indian/Alaska Natives (127), Asian (32), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (9) and others (57). §: Primary care providers include family medicine doctors, internists and/or general paediatricians. Other specialists include cardiologists, pulmonologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, ophthalmologists, psychiatrists and/or rheumatologists. ƒ: Steroids: prednisone, methylprednisolone and dexamethasone. Cytotoxic agents: hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, methotrexate, azathioprine, leflunomide, mycophenolate and cyclophosphamide. Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors: infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab, golimumab and etanercept. Others: rituximab, pentoxifylline, intravenous Ig, thalidomide, adrenocorticotropic hormone.