title: Faraway from the silk route: demographic and clinical features of Behçet's disease in 106 Brazilian patients.
abstract: To describe clinical and epidemiological data of Behçet's disease (BD) in Brazil, we retrospectively reviewed records of all patients seen between 2006 and 2007 at the BD outpatient clinic of University of Sao Paulo. One hundred and six patients fulfilled the International Study Group for Behçet's Disease diagnostic criteria and they were included in this study. There was a female/male ratio of 2.2:1 and mean age at diagnosis was 31.9 +/- 9.2 years. In order of frequency, oral (100%) and genital ulcerations (92.5%), pseudofolliculitis (59.4%), erythema nodosum (49.1%), ocular lesions (47.2%), and musculoskeletal complaints (35.8%) were the most common manifestations. Blindness and major vessel involvement (18.2% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.038 and 27.3% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.019) were more frequent among male than female patients. We concluded that in Brazil, a South American country faraway from the Silk Route, BD follows the same pattern exhibited on its usual endemic area.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Division, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. nevesfab@bol.com.br
authors.forename: Fabricio Souza
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: Cezar Augusto Muniz
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Caldas
authors.forename: Laís Verderame
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Lage
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goldenstein-Schainberg
authors.forename: Célio Roberto
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001938:Brazil; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000453:epidemiology*