Influence of Gender on Epidemiology and Clinical Manifestations of Sarcoidosis: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study 1976–2013

The influence of ethnicity on epidemiology and clinical manifestations of sarcoidosis is well recognized. However, data on the role of sex are limited.

The current study utilized the resource of the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, with new diagnosis of sarcoidosis from 1976 to 2013. Diagnosis was verified by medical record and histopathological report review.

345 incident cases of sarcoidosis were identified: 174 (50 %) were female and 171 (50 %) were male. The age at diagnosis was significantly higher among females than males (48.3 vs. 42.8 years; p < 0.001). Intra-thoracic disease was seen in the great majority of patients (98 % among females and 96 % among males; p = 0.50). However, pulmonary symptoms were significantly more frequent among males than females (51 vs. 36 %; p = 0.006). The frequency of individual extra-thoracic organ involvement was not significantly different between females and males except for cutaneous involvement and uveitis that were significantly more common among females (6 vs. 1 % for uveitis, p = 0.012 and 25 vs. 12 % for cutaneous involvement, p = 0.002). The frequency of elevate angiotensin-converting enzyme level and hypercalcemia was not significantly different between the two sexes.

Females tended to be older at the age they developed sarcoidosis, and had more uveitis and cutaneous involvement than males.