AB1083 IN A FAMILIAL MEDITERRANEAN FEVER PREVALENT REGION, ARE FAMILIAL MEDITERRANEAN FEVER AND BEHÇET’S DISEASE ASSOCIATED?

Abstract

Background The co-existence of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) and BehCet’s Disease (BD) has been questioned. There have been a variety of claims on a common pathogenesis. Objectives We intended to report the prevalence of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) and BehCet’s disease (BD) and comorbidity ratio of these two diseases in Sivas, Turkey, a city where FMF is known to be very high. Methods Seventy-two primary schools in the center of Sivas participated in the study. A total of 14881 randomized sample children from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, and also 985 of them with their parents (n: 978) were interviewed. During these interviews, the family tree up to second degree relatives was drawn. The presence of a diagnosis of FMF or BD was questioned. The ones who have a diagnosis were confirmed by contacting the medical centers. The ones who were suspected of a disease were further investigated at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Medical Faculty, Family Medicine Outpatient unit. For each disease a disease related history, physical examination, eye examination and pathergy test for BD were performed when needed. Results 985 students, 978 mothers, 953 fathers and 1876 relatives (4792 in total) were included in the study. Only 30 (0.6%) of the sample was diagnosed with FMF, and 3 (%0.06) was diagnosed with BD. One of them had concomitant FMF diagnosis. Conclusion The prevalence of FMF in Sivas is higher than Turkey’s prevalence; however, BD prevalence was found very low. According to these findings, it is not easy to conclude that these two diseases share a similar background of pathogenesis. Disclosure of Interests None declared