Melungeon Diseases

"Melungeon descendants show a heavy propensity toward such Mediterranean diseases as thalassemia, familial Mediterranean fever, and sarcoidosis. We are presently documenty cases of Appalachian Melungeons with both sarcoidosis and thalassemia, and suspect that our findings in this area will greatly impact the medical communtiy's understanding of sarcoidodid among us so-called "Caucasians."

"Thalassemia, incidently, is most common in Portugal, Italy, and Greece, and among Americanswith Mediterranean heritages. Sarcoidosis is also present among the Portuguese, especially those with a link to the Canary Islands and those in the Alente- (southern) region."