Introduction:
Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease that predominantly affects the lungs but may involve multiple extrapulmonary organs. Its clinical presentation is highly heterogeneous and non-specific, with fatigue being one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms.
Objectives:
This study aimed to evaluate fatigue in patients with sarcoidosis from Madeira Island and to compare fatigue between treated and untreated patients. Additionally, changes in fatigue before and after treatment initiation were assessed in patients receiving therapy.
Materials and Methods:
We conducted a observational study that included patients with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis up to March 2026, followed at Hospital Central do Funchal. Fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), through structured interviews.
A total of 17 patients were included. Patients were stratified according to treatment status (treated vs. untreated). In the subgroup of treated patients, FAS scores were collected before and after treatment initiation.
Results:
Most patients (52.9%) were male with a mean age of 62.8 years (range 39–85). Nine patients (52.9%) were under therapy with corticosteroids and/or methotrexate.
The overall FAS score was 23.24 ± 9.74, (median 23). Among untreated patients, the mean FAS score was 18.9 (median 20.5). In the treated group, pre-treatment FAS scores were higher, with a mean score of 34.2 (median 32). Following treatment initiation, a reduction in fatigue scores was observed, with a mean score of 29.3 (median 23). All treated patients showed either stability or improvement in fatigue, with a mean individual reduction of 7.1 points.
Conclusions:
Fatigue is highly prevalent in sarcoidosis patients and it seems to be more debilitating in patients that need treatment. A trend towards improvement in fatigue scores was observed following treatment initiation, even though it is not aimed for fatigue relieve. Given the small sample size, larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.