Optic Neuritis among National Health Insurance Enrollees in Taiwan, 2000–2004

Abstract

Background: The objective was to examine the incidence of optic neuritis in Taiwan. A 5-year longitudinal, nationwide, population-based study was conducted. The participants were a random sample of 191,761 subjects, or about 1% of the enrollees in the National Health Insurance program of Taiwan. Methods: We identified subjects who had at least 1 service claim for ambulatory or inpatient care with a principal diagnosis of optic neuritis between 2000 and 2004. We calculated and statistically analyzed the rates of optic neuritis. The main outcome measures were the incidence rates of optic neuritis. Results: From 2000 to 2004, the total cumulative incidence was 1.33 per 1,000 (1.00 vs. 1.67 for male vs. female subjects; p < 0.001, χ² test). The cumulative incidence rates for the age groups of 0–19, 20–39, 40–59 and ≧60 years were 0.33, 1.05, 2.16 and 2.81 cases per 1,000, respectively. Among the subjects aged 40–59 years, the cumulative incidence was higher in women than in men (p < 0.001, χ² test). The incidence density of developing multiple sclerosis after optic neuritis was 0.41% per person-year, and the cumulative incidence of multiple sclerosis after a new diagnosis of optic neuritis was 0.78%. Conclusions: We believe our study is the first nationwide investigation of the incidence rates of optic neuritis in Taiwan. In our investigation, the cumulative incidence peaked among the subjects aged 40–59 years, especially in women. In Taiwan, patients with optic neuritis have a notably low rate of conversion to multiple sclerosis.

Seven‐year nationwide incidence of optic neuritis requiring intravenous methylprednisolone injection in Korean adults

“…The annual incidence of adult ON requiring intravenous methylprednisolone injection in this study was slightly higher than but similar to the findings of 1.46 and 0.83 per 100 000 people in the former hospital-based studies conducted in Japan (Wakakura et al 1995) and Singapore (Lim et al 2009) and much lower than the 33 per 100 000 people in the Taiwan study performed using National Health Insurance Data (Woung et al 2007). In Western countries, the incidence of ON was between 1.4 and 6.4 per 100 000 people (Percy et al 1972;Jin et al 1998).…”

Population‐based epidemiologic study of Wilson’s disease in Taiwan

“…We have previously established the population‐based epidemiological data of motor neuron diseases [20], Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease and multiple sclerosis [21] in Taiwan from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Other studies utilizing the same database have also been published [22–26]. In this study, we presented the epidemiology data of Wilson’s disease in Taiwan during 2000–2005.…”

Clinical profile and neuroimaging in pediatric optic neuritis in Indian population: A case series

“…A study done in Korean population showed only 4% of children with MS.[9] Various studies carried out in Southeast Asia in adults had indicated that the clinical profile of ON in these regions may be different from that presented in the Western literature. [1213141516]…”