Background

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic disease with unknown etiology and complicated by a lot of comorbidities, only partly due to the treatment (J. Larsson, et al. Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2020, 37: 104-135; P.B.-Zeròn,et al. Lung 2018; 196:239-248).

Aims

Evaluating the prevalence of comorbidities in patients previously diagnosed with Sarcoidosis in our Center.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated 152 patients who were histologically diagnosed with Sarcoidosis from 2015 to 2022 and still in follow-up at our Center of Rare Respiratory Disease. We focused on the comorbidities which had already been reported at the time of the diagnosis of Sarcoidosis.

Results

The comorbidities which were most frequently found in our patients were as follows: Systemic Arterial Hypertension (30%), type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (17.8%), and thyroid disorders (8.55%). Hypothyroidism was found to be the most common (8o%). 20 (13.2%) patients presented with other respiratory disorders, such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS), Bronchial Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). 10.5% of this cohort presented malignancies. Among those patients, the most common neoplasm was Breast Cancer (50%). 12 (8.1%) patients were affected by connective tissue disorders such as Psoriatic Arthritis, the most common in this cohort (41.6%). Osteoporosis was found in 4,05% of patients.

Conclusions

Sarcoidosis often presents with a high frequency of comorbidities, some of which might be treatment related. Therefore, early identification of such conditions improves not only the quality of life, but also the natural history of the disease