Background
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is the most widely studied biomarker in sarcoidosis; however, its association with epidemiology and multi-organ involvement remains unclear. The aim of our study was to analyse whether elevated ACE levels are associated with epidemiological factors, as well as with pulmonary, extrathoracic, and multi-organ involvement in patients with sarcoidosis.
Methods
A retrospective single-centre study was conducted on patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis between 2000 and 2024. Multi-organ disease was defined as involvement of three or more organs, and elevated ACE levels were defined as values equal to or greater than 50 IU/L.
Results
A total of 177 patients were analysed, of whom 117 patients (66.1%) presented with elevated ACE levels at the time of diagnosis. A significant relationship between elevated ACE levels and multi-organ involvement was observed (OR = 4.99 [95% CI 1.56–15.96]), while White patients (OR = 4.9 [95% CI 1.04–23.25]), skin involvement (OR = 2.55 [95% CI 1.27–5.12]), and age (OR = 1.02 [95% CI 1.0–1.04]) were associated with normal ACE levels. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to differentiate multi-organ from limited involvement yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.788, with 86.2% sensitivity and 36.5% specificity using the conventional cut-off (50 IU/L).
Conclusions
Patients with sarcoidosis and multi-organ involvement had elevated ACE levels. In contrast, older age, White race/ethnicity, and skin involvement were associated with ACE levels within the reference range.
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