We report a clinical analysis of sarcoidosis patients complicated by collagen diseases and treated for the last 15 years in Gunma University Hospital. One hundred and sixteen patients with sarcoidosis were treated, and 10 patients of them (8.6%) had collagen disease complications. All the patients were female. Coexisting collagen diseases were Sjögren’s syndrome in 4 patients, systemic lupus erythematodes in 2, and dermatomyositis with Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclelosis with polymyositis, polymyositis and dermatomyositis each in one. In 4 of the patients, one disease had preceded the other disease by a period ranging from 6 to 30 years, with an average of 14 years. In the other 6 patients, both diseases were diagnosed at the same time. It has been reported that the coexistence of collagen disease and sarcoidosis is not so rare and that positive antinuclear antibodies are frequently found in sarcoidsis patients. Autoimmune diseases, including collagen diseases, should be carefully considered in sarcoidosis patients.
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