Effect of obesity on patient-reported outcomes in sarcoidosis

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of high body mass index (BMI) on patient-reported outcomes in sarcoidosis patients and healthy persons. METHODS: In this case-control study, we investigated symptoms of fatigue and dyspnoea, health status, BMI and spirometric tests in 184 sarcoidosis patients and the same number of sex- and age-matched healthy subjects. Fatigue was assessed using the fatigue scale (FS), dyspnoea was determined by the baseline dyspnoea index (BDI) and health status was measured using the respiratory-specific St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). RESULTS: There were significantly more subjects with increased BMI (>= 25 kg/m(2)) among the sarcoidosis patients than among the healthy volunteers (chi(2) 37.675, P < 0.01). Sarcoidosis patients also had a greater probability of having a higher BMI (P < 0.01, OR 1.18, 95%CI 1.07-1.3). We found significantly lower BDI scores and forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity, as well as higher total SGRQ and total FS scores in sarcoidosis patients than in healthy individuals (P < 0.01 for all differences). CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis significantly reduces patients' health status, both independently and also due to increased BMI. Reduction in BMI may contribute to improved spirometry results and health status of patients with sarcoidosis.