Epidemiology of sarcoidosis in Catalonia: 1979-1989

For the purpose of estimating the incidence rate and clinico-epidemiological characteristics of sarcoidosis in Catalonia (a country comprising the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona, with a total population of 6 million people), we did a retrospective study of new cases diagnosed in the country's qualified hospitals during 1979 and the three-year period from 1986 to 1988. The annual incidence rate in the province of Barcelona was 1.2/100,000 in 1979 and 1.5/100,000 in 1988. 245 cases were diagnosed in Catalonia in the three-year period covering 1986-88, the annual incidence rate being 1.36/100,000 inhabitants. We describe here the characteristics of this series of 245 cases (which is the first one representative of the whole of Catalonia), and compare them with those of other series published previously. We conclude that the incidence of sarcoidosis in our country is one of the lowest in Europe, with no significant variations observed over ten years. The most relevant clinico-epidemiological characteristics are its clear predominance in women (3:1), and the high frequency of Löfgren's syndrome (48% of cases), whose incidence is significantly higher in springtime.