Behсet's disease: clinical and gender associations

Abstract

Objective: to compare the frequency of clinical manifestations of Behcet's disease (BD) in patients of both sexes in a Russian cohort.Patients and methods. Examinations were made in 425 patients (285 men and 140 women; mean age, 33.2±10.2 years; median duration of BD, 134.3 [60.0; 192.0] months (about 11 years) with a reliable diagnosis of the disease. 208 (48.9%) patients were ethnic residents of the North Caucasus. The activity of BD was assessed using the BD Current Activity Form; the disease severity was evaluated according to the classification proposed by Ch. Zouboulis.Results and discussion. In men with BD in the Russian cohort, the activity and severity of the disease were significantly higher and the HLA-B5(51)- antigen was more common. There was an association of male sex with thromboses in the deep cerebral veins and cerebral sinuses, damage to the eyes and skin (pseudopustulosis and pseudofolliculitis), genital ulcers, and a positive pathergy test. The findings are consistent with the results of studies of other patient cohorts: Iranian, German, Turkish ones, in which the men were more frequently detected to have damage to the vessels, skin and eyes.Conclusion. In the Russian patient cohort, the male sex is associated with high BD activity, severe organ damages, and HLA-B5(51)-antigen positivity, which is the basis for prescribing immunosuppressive therapy in men with early-stage BD.