Walsh & Hoyt: Sarcoidosis: Epidemiology

Sarcoidosis occurs with varying frequency among populations throughout the world. For instance, the disease occurs in 64 per 100,000 persons in Sweden but in 12 of 100,000 persons in Japan and in 3 per 100,000 in Poland. The prevalence of sarcoidosis in the United States is 1040 per 100,000. It must be emphasized, however, that the prevalence and annual incidence of sarcoidosis in some countries are mere approximations because of the lack of systematic mass radiographic screening, a general lack of awareness of the many manifestations of sarcoidosis, and difficulty in separating the disease from tuberculosis which sarcoidosis resembles to a large degree.