Sarcoidosis Epidemiology Research Team
Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease that mostly affects the pulmonary and lymphatic systems. Annually, about 1100 individuals are diagnosed with sarcoidosis in Sweden. Our team uses comprehensive high-quality healthcare data to conduct large-scale investigations of risk factors and patient outcomes in sarcoidosis.
Who we are
Our research group in sarcoidosis epidemiology is part of the Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Epidemiology research section based at the Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna.
Elizabeth Arkema
Principal ResearcherMarios Rossides
Affiliated to ResearchMarina Dehara
Phd Student;Clinical AssistantAnna-Maria Wintler
Phd StudentOur vision and mission
Our overarching goal is to better understand the causes and consequences of sarcoidosis.
Specifically, our aims are to:
- Identify risk factors for sarcoidosis
- Reduce the time from symptoms to diagnosis
- Improve treatment strategies for sarcoidosis
- Minimize the long-term consequences of sarcoidosis
Our mission is to provide evidence-based answers to etiological and clinical questions using epidemiological methods.
Our data
Sweden’s high quality and comprehensive healthcare data allow us to conduct large-scale investigations of risk factors for and outcomes after sarcoidosis. These nationwide data from health and demographic registers form the basis of our data repository for sarcoidosis research. It is further enriched by the inclusion of clinical and laboratory data for about 1500 individuals included in the sarcoidosis clinical cohort at Karolinska University Hospital.
Our work is supported by grants from, among others, the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, Swedish Society for Medicine, Sfo Epidemiology, and Karolinska Institutet Research Foundation.
Collaborations
Our work brings together the expertise of clinicians, immunologists and epidemiologists. Collaborations are essential for the exchange of expertise from all scientific fields and we welcome researchers interested in sarcoidosis research to contact us.
Currently, we work closely with the following divisions:
- Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet
- Respiratory Medicine, Theme Inflammation and Infection, Karolinska University Hospital
- Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital
- Pulmonary Medicine, Section of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University
- Biobanken Norr, Laboratoriemedicin Västerbotten, Region Västerbotten
Selected publications
Infection risk in sarcoidosis patients treated with methotrexate compared to azathioprine: A retrospective 'target trial' emulated with Swedish real-world data.
Rossides M, Kullberg S, Di Giuseppe D, Eklund A, Grunewald J, Askling J, et al
Respirology 2021 Jan
Maternal and infant outcomes in sarcoidosis pregnancy: a Swedish population-based cohort study of first births.
Köcher L, Rossides M, Remaeus K, Grunewald J, Eklund A, Kullberg S, et al
Respir Res 2020 Aug;21(1):225
Sarcoidosis epidemiology: recent estimates of incidence, prevalence and risk factors.
Arkema EV, Cozier YC
Curr Opin Pulm Med 2020 Sep;26(5):527-534
Risk of first and recurrent serious infection in sarcoidosis: a Swedish register-based cohort study.
Rossides M, Kullberg S, Eklund A, Di Giuseppe D, Grunewald J, Askling J, et al
Eur Respir J 2020 Sep;56(3):2000767
Are infectious diseases risk factors for sarcoidosis or a result of reverse causation? Findings from a population-based nested case-control study.
Rossides M, Kullberg S, Askling J, Eklund A, Grunewald J, Di Giuseppe D, et al
Eur J Epidemiol 2020 Nov;35(11):1087-1097
Sarcoidosis diagnosis and treatment in Sweden: A register-based assessment of variations by region and calendar period.
Rossides M, Kullberg S, Eklund A, Grunewald J, Arkema EV
Respir Med 2020 Jan;161:105846
Sarcoidosis.
Grunewald J, Grutters JC, Arkema EV, Saketkoo LA, Moller DR, Müller-Quernheim J
Nat Rev Dis Primers 2019 Jul;5(1):45
Work ability before and after sarcoidosis diagnosis in Sweden.
Arkema EV, Eklund A, Grunewald J, Bruze G
Respir Med 2018 Nov;144S:S7-S12
Epidemiology of sarcoidosis: current findings and future directions.
Arkema EV, Cozier YC
Ther Adv Chronic Dis 2018 Nov;9(11):227-240
Familial aggregation and heritability of sarcoidosis: a Swedish nested case-control study.
Rossides M, Grunewald J, Eklund A, Kullberg S, Di Giuseppe D, Askling J, et al
Eur Respir J 2018 08;52(2):1800385
Sarcoidosis mortality in Sweden: a population-based cohort study.
Rossides M, Kullberg S, Askling J, Eklund A, Grunewald J, Arkema EV
Eur Respir J 2018 02;51(2):1701815
Sarcoidosis incidence and prevalence: a nationwide register-based assessment in Sweden.
Arkema EV, Grunewald J, Kullberg S, Eklund A, Askling J
Eur Respir J 2016 12;48(6):1690-1699
More on sarcoidosis
Written about our work
Sarcoidosis - the enigmatic disease
Sarcoidosis is not a rare disease as the prevalence is more than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants. Every year, 1,100 new cases are diagnosed and 160 individuals per 100,000 inhabitants live with the disease. However, the incidence varies among the country's regions. Lung & Allergy Forum, No. 4, 2020 [in Swedish].
Västerbottningarna svårt drabbade av lungsjukdomen sarkoidos
Den gåtfulla lungsjukdomen sarkoidos, som årligen leder till att ett 30-tal svenskar dör, är betydligt vanligare i Västerbotten än i resten av landet – det visar en studie som presenteras i Hjärt-Lungfondens nya Lungrapport. Nu arbetar forskarna för att lista ut varför.
Oklart varför prevalensen av sarkoidos skiljer sig geografiskt
"Huruvida skillnaden i prevalens förklaras av miljöfaktorer eller att befolkningen i nordvästra Sverige har gemensam genetisk komposition som kan medföra en ökad risk är inte klarlagt." skriver Susanna Kullberg och Elizabeth Arkema vid Karolinska Institutet i Läkartidningen.
Contact or visit us
You can reach us via the following channels:
- Email us at elizabeth.arkema@ki.se
- Send us a direct message on Twitter
- Visit our office at Karolinska University Hospital [map]