The Minasarc study: A case-control study measuring mineral exposome in sarcoidosis

Abstract : It has been suggested that sarcoidosis could be associated with exposure to inorganic particles (Newman LS Curr Opin All Clin Immunol 2012; 12:145-50, Vincent M et al Am J Ind Med 2015; 58:S31-8). In order to test this hypothesis the Minasarc study was designed to evaluate the mineral exposome by a specific questionnaire (SQ) and a mineralogical analysis performed on BALs by optical and electron microscopy in patients and healthy volunteers (HV). We present here the results obtained by the SQ which can be considered as a tool for global assessment of the “whole life” exposure to inorganic particles in occupational and environmental contexts. The study was performed on 20 patients with sarcoidosis and 20 HV. Every HV was matched to a patient by sex, age and smoking habit. The SQ was calibrated with a representative sample of the French population (n=825) in the ELIPSSilice survey (ANR-10-Eqpx-19-01) and the result was expressed as a “dust score”. Scores were compared by a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. [Résumé éditeur]