Prevalence of asthma and atopy in sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

We hypothesized that the prevalence of allergic disorders, characterized by the release of type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10), would be lower in sarcoidosis in which there is a dominant type 1 immune response (IL-2, interferon-gamma). The objective was to measure the prevalence of atopy and self-reported asthma in patients with sarcoidosis.

METHODS

Sarcoidosis patients (n = 136, 72 M, age range 22-75), recruited in the outpatient setting, completed a modified European Community Respiratory Health Survey. 123 of these patients provided blood for allergy testing.

RESULTS

For the cohort as a whole the self-reported prevalence of asthma ever (21.5%) and asthma attack in the last 12 months (7.5%), was high as was wheezing (42.1%), breathlessness with wheeze (22.3%) and use of an asthma medication (13.1%). The prevalence of atopy was 34%. These data are not different from the previously reported prevalence of asthma and atopy in New Zealand.

CONCLUSIONS

The same prevalence of asthma symptoms and atopy as in the normal population suggests that the immune system is not skewed away from mounting T helper type 2 immune responses in sarcoidosis.