Sarcoidosis and work: literature review

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystem granulomatous disease, characterised by thoracic manifestations in the lungs and ileomediastinal lymph nodes and extrathoracic manifestations in various organs and systems. Objectives: The aim of the present work is to investigate the current knowledge regarding the possible correlation between sarcoid disease and occupational exposures. Methods: The research was conducted through the PUBMED bibliographic database. It was based on the use of different search strings using keywords that could well focus on the topic of interest. Results: The study of the etiology of sarcoidosis has interested scholars for many years. Different works have shown an excess risk for certain professions (health workers, firefighters) and more recent works have hypothesised a correlation with occupational exposure to non-particles. Conclusions: A variety of risk factors are likely to be involved in the genesis of sarcoidosis. The evidence so far suggests a role for genetic and environmental factors. There is also evidence that sarcoidosis can be related to certain occupations. Therefore, when confronted with a case of sarcoidosis, the work history of the subject should be carefully reconstructed in order to identify potential risk factors.