Prevalence and clinical features of systemic diseases in Chinese patients with uveitis

Abstract

PurposeSystemic diseases are frequently associated with uveitis but are often not recognised by clinicians. An estimate of the prevalence in a large-scale uveitis population is essential for understanding the epidemiological profile and may be helpful for clinical practice.DesignA nationwide survey.MethodsData were obtained from a national database which included the registration of uveitis cases from 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities across mainland China. The primary outcome was identification of a systemic disease associated with uveitis.ResultsFrom April 2008 through August 2018, 15 373 uveitis patients were included in the study. Males accounted for 52.9%, and the mean (SD) age of uveitis onset was 35.4 (15.9) years. After standardisation for age, the prevalence of systemic disease among patients with uveitis was 30.8% (95% CI, 30.1% to 31.6%). Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH; age-standardised prevalence, 12.7%; 95% CI, 12.1% to 13.2%), Behçet’s disease (BD; 8.7%; 95% CI, 8.3% to 9.2%), ankylosing spondylitis (AS; 5.0%; 95% CI, 4.6% to 5.3%) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA; 1.2%; 95% CI, 1.0% to 1.3%) were the most common entities among 36 different forms of systemic diseases identified. The prevalence was significantly higher in males (37.0%; 95% CI, 36.0% to 38.1%) than in females (23.6%; 95% CI, 22.6% to 24.6%), and also higher in bilateral uveitis patients (41.2%; 95% CI, 40.2% to 42.2%) compared with unilateral cases (14.3%; 95% CI, 13.4% to 15.2%), and was highest in panuveitis (59.5%; 95% CI, 58.2% to 60.8%).ConclusionApproximately one third of uveitis patients in this nationwide survey have an associated systemic disease, whereby VKH, BD, AS and JIA are the most frequent entities seen in China.

<p>Clinical Features of Japanese Patients with Ocular Inflammation and Their Surgical Procedures Over the Course of 20 Years</p>

“…We determined that unclassified intraocular inflammation was still present in 696 patients (38.3%) in the current study, so we also considered the distribution of the anatomical classification in the Japanese population with uveitis, and interestingly, we found that anterior uveitis was the most common (51.2%), followed by panuveitis (37.2%), posterior uveitis (9.4%), and intermediate uveitis (2.2%). Comparing with other Asian countries, 13,14 recent researches in China found that panuveitis was the most common 14 and that the frequency of Behçet's disease was higher, which is in contrast with the present study. That study's male-female ratio was similar to the current study, at 0.87:1, but the subjects were much younger, at 55.5 years old, and it is well known that the prevalence of uveitis varies by geographic location and that the incidence varies by age and the anatomic location of the inflammatory process.…”

Analyses of circRNA and mRNA Profiles in Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada Disease

“…VKH disease is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by bilateral granulomatous uveitis with systemic involvement such as meningeal irritation, auditory dysfunction, vitiligo, alopecia, and poliosis ( 1 – 3 ). Based on the previous studies from our group, VKH disease accounts for 12.7-15.9% of total uveitis patients ( 4 , 5 ). It is generally accepted that VKH disease is an autoimmune disorder mediated by immune response against melanin associated antigens ( 1 ).…”

Epidemiology and Risk Factors in Non-infectious Uveitis: A Systematic Review

“…Table 2 shows that the prevalence of uveitis varies from 12.4 per 100,000 persons in Portugal (19) to 580 per 100,000 persons in Thailand (22). Once again, these recent studies did not specifically focus on non-infectious uveitis, although most of the cases were of non-infectious etiology (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23).…”