Photo Credit: Henadzi Pechan

The following is a summary of “Incidence and Prevalence of Uveitis and Associated Ocular Complications in the United States TriNetX Database,” published in the March 2025 issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology by Kirupaharan et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study using the United States TriNetX database (2013–2023) to examine demographics, immunosuppressant use, systemic diseases, ocular comorbidities, and the incidence and prevalence of uveitis and associated low vision.  

They used the TriNetX database to analyze individuals with uveitis. Identification was based on International Classification for Disease codes, and cases were categorized into anatomic subtypes. Data on incidence and prevalence were collected from 2013 to 2023. Additional variables included demographics, systemic immunosuppressant use, presence of associated systemic diseases, and ocular complications. The primary outcomes were the annual and cumulative incidence and prevalence of uveitis, stratified by anatomic subtype. Secondary outcomes included the annual and cumulative incidence and prevalence of low vision.  

The results showed that out of 1,09,026,851 individuals in the database, 2,78,333 (0.26%) had uveitis. The mean age was 56 years (Standard Deviation=21, 95% CI 55.9-56.1), with most being female (n=149,186; 53.6%, 95% CI 53.4-53.8%) and white (n=150,578; 54.1%, 95% CI 53.9-54.3%). Anterior uveitis was the most common subtype (n=209,073; 75.1%). Oral prednisone was the most frequently used immunosuppressant (n=62,834; 22.6%, 95% CI 22.5-22.8%), while methotrexate was the most prevalent corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive agent (n=15,817; 5.7%, 95% CI 5.6-5.8%). Inflammatory spondyloarthropathies were the most frequently associated systemic disease (n=18,372; 6.6%, 95% CI 6.5-6.7%). The cumulative incidence and prevalence of uveitis from 2013 to 2023 were 212.5 and 260.8 per 1,00,000 persons, respectively.  

Investigators concluded that uveitis incidence and low vision increased over the past decade, highlighting the need for further research to prevent vision loss. 

Source: ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(25)00157-6/abstract