Epidemiological and clinical manifestations of Behçet's disease in western Algeria: gender-related differences.

BACKGROUND

To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of Behçet's disease (BD) in a sample from northwestern Algeria and compare them with data from other ethnic groups.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND

METHODS

This is a retrospective study conducted between 2016 and 2024, including patients with BD followed at the internal medicine and dermatology departments of the Oran University Hospital Center. Demographic and clinical data were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

Among a total of 85 patients, oral ulcers were the most common symptom (98.82%), followed by genital ulcers (76.47%) and skin lesions (74.12%). Neurological and vascular involvement were less frequent, affecting 35.29% and 25.88% of patients, respectively. A male predominance was observed, with a sex ratio of 1.74. Analysis of clinical manifestations by gender revealed a higher frequency of ocular (p = 0.015, 95% CI: [0.23, 2.07]) and vascular (p = 0.012, 95% CI: [0.37, 3.00]) lesions in male patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 27.13 ± 6.27 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral and genital ulcers are the most common manifestations. Differences in the distribution of clinical signs according to gender were observed.