MODE OF PRESENTATION AND MULTISYSTEM INVOLVEMENT IN BEHCETS-DISEASE -THE INFLUENCE OF SEX AND AGE OF DISEASE ONSET

Objective. To evaluate the correlation between the age at onset of Beh cet's disease (BD) and sex distribution, mode of disease appearance, a nd number of organs involved during the disease. Methods. ED was defin ed according to the International Study Group criteria. Data from medi cal files and from patient interviews were collected. Results were ana lyzed for children :Ind adults, according to age at disease onset. A s ystemic involvement index was calculated as the sum of visceral organ systems involved. Results, Fifty-nine patients with ED were studied, 2 6 male and 33 female. The mean age at disease onset was 8.4 +/- 4.5 ye ars in children and 29.8 +/- 7.9 years in adults. The age of onset was significantly lower in male versus female patients. ED presented in c hildren almost entirely as recurrent aphthous stomatitis, while in adu lts, less than one-third of patients presented first with oral ulcers, The mean age at disease onset of patients who presented first with or al ulcers was significantly lower than the age of patients presenting first with non-oral aphthosis. The mean systemic involvement index was higher in adult onset than in juvenile onset disease. A significant l inear correlation was found between age of disease onset and total num ber of visceral organ systems involved, Conclusion. ED was observed to occur earlier in males than in females. The first manifestation of ED in children is almost exclusively in the form of oral ulcers, while o lder patients have a large proportion of non-oral aphthosis as their f irst disease manifestation. Disease onset at an older age is positivel y correlated with increased disease spectrum.