s34_ab5

Increased frequency of familial Mediterranean fever in Central Anatolia, Turkey

F. Onen¹, H. Sumer², S. Turkay³, O. Akyurek², M. Tunca⁴, H. Ozdogan⁵

¹Division of Immunology and Rheumato-logy, ⁴Department of Internal Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Izmir; ²Department of Public Health and ³Department of Pediatric Medicine, Cumhuriyet University School of Medicine; ⁵Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.

ABSTRACT
Objective
It has been observed that familial Mediterranean fever is more prevalent among people coming from central Anatolia in Turkey. To test this observation the frequency of FMF was investigated by a field survey in Sivas, a city located in central of Turkey.

Methods
The survey was conducted in a cohort of 4809 persons selected by systematic sampling from 2 districts of Sivas, with a total population of 83,274. Face to face interviewing was done with registered households using a standard questionnaire developed to screen FMF. A second interview was conducted by a rheumatologist and an internist of those individuals who were regarded to have possible FMF.

Results
The suspicion of FMF emerged in the cases of 46 individuals during the survey and 36 were interviewed for a second time. FMF was diagnosed in 10 cases. Only one had a previous diagnosis of FMF. The overall frequency of FMF among a cohort of 3,948 inhabitants of Sivas was 1/395 (0.25%).

Conclusion
This study indicates that the prevalence of FMF in Sivas may be higher than that in general Turkish population, which has been reported to be 0.1%.

Key words
Prevalence, familial Mediterranean fever.

Please address correspondence to: Dr. Fatos Onen, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, 35340 Izmir, Turkey.
E-mail: fatos.onen@deu.edu.tr