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The Burden of Comorbidity and Complexity in Sarcoidosis: Impact of Associated Chronic Diseases

  • Interstitial Lung Disease
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate comorbidity, complexity and poor outcomes in patients with sarcoidosis and to compare those scores with a control group.

Methods

218 consecutive patients were diagnosed with sarcoidosis according to the ATS/ERS/WASOG criteria; extrathoracic involvement was evaluated using the 2014 WASOG organ assessment instrument. Sarcoidosis patients were compared with an age- and gender-matched control group of primary care outpatients without sarcoidosis. Comorbidities were assessed retrospectively using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI); complexity was evaluated according to the classification into Clinical Risk Groups (CRG) and severity levels.

Results

The cohort included 142 women and 76 men; the mean age was 47.1 years at diagnosis of sarcoidosis and 55.9 years at the last visit. Patients with a CCI > 1 had a higher frequency of calcium/vitamin D abnormalities (p < 0.001), kidney involvement (p = 0.005) and a higher mortality rate (p < 0.001) compared with patients with a CCI ≤ 1. Patients with a CRG ≥ 6 had a higher frequency of extrathoracic involvement (p = 0.039), calcium/vitamin D abnormalities (p = 0.019) and treatment with glucocorticoids (p = 0.032) compared with patients with a CRG < 6. 11% patients died after a mean follow-up of 102.3 months. Country of birth, kidney involvement and extrathoracic disease were significantly associated with death. Patients with sarcoidosis had a higher frequency of liver (p < 0.001), pulmonary (p = 0.002) and autoimmune disease (p = 0.011) and cancer (p = 0.007) compared with the control group.

Conclusion

We found higher rates of comorbidity and complexity in patients with sarcoidosis compared with a control group. Liver, pulmonary, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases were the main comorbidities found in patients with sarcoidosis.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grants Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (MRC, INT15/00085) and “Ajut per a la Recerca Josep Font” (PBZ, Hospital Clinic-Barcelona 2012). The authors wish to thank David Buss for his editorial assistance.

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Correspondence to Manuel Ramos-Casals.

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Global survival of the cohort of patients with sarcoidosis. (TIF 3230 KB)

408_2017_76_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Adjusted survival curves according to the CCI score (&#x003C; or &#x003E; 1) (Figure A females, Figure B males). (TIF 6460 KB)

Supplementary material 3 (DOCX 28 KB)

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Brito-Zerón, P., Acar-Denizli, N., Sisó-Almirall, A. et al. The Burden of Comorbidity and Complexity in Sarcoidosis: Impact of Associated Chronic Diseases. Lung 196, 239–248 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-017-0076-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-017-0076-4

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