Rheumatology (Oxford). 2025 Nov 29:keaf636. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf636. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of demographics on organ damage in a broad, multiethnic cohort of patients with Behçet’s Syndrome (BS).
METHODS: In this cross-sectional ancillary analysis of the PROBE project, the investigated demographic variables were sex, age, education level, and geographic area of residence. Damage was measured by the BS Overall Damage Index (BODI). Multivariate linear (β) and logistic (adjOR) regression analyses examined associations between demographics and the extent and prevalence of damage.
RESULTS: A total of 970 patients were enrolled. The median (IQR) age was 40 (31-50) years; 56.5% were males; 21.4% had a low level of education. The median BODI score was 1 (0-3), with 65.6% of patients having a BODI ≥1. Males had higher damage (β 0.103) and a higher prevalence of total (adjOR 1.7, per 10-years), ocular (adjOR 1.6), and vascular (adjOR 2.1) damage. Age was associated with greater damage (β 0.104), and a higher prevalence of overall (adjOR 1.4), neuropsychiatric (adjOR 1.2), and miscellaneous (adjOR 2.0) damage. Low education was associated with a greater frequency of overall (adjOR 1.9) and ocular (adjOR 1.6) damage. North African patients experienced greater damage than South European (β 0.400) and Middle Eastern (β 0.314) patients, as well as a higher risk of overall damage (adjOR 13.9 and adjOR 10.7, respectively) across all organ domains, except for the reproductive and gastrointestinal systems.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates how the extent, prevalence, and characteristics of damage in BS vary with demographic factors, underscoring their importance in research and personalized management.
PMID:41317382 | DOI:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf636
