2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
9 Uveitis and Ocular Inflammation
Chapter 5: Diagnostic Considerations in Uveitis
Epidemiology
Uveitis is responsible for approximately 10% of all blindness in the United States and Europe and up to 25% of blindness worldwide. In the United States, the prevalence of uveitis is 58–131 per 100,00 and is up to 1070 per 100,000 in the developing world. Anterior uveitis is the most common type of uveitis, representing 70%–80% of cases, followed by panuveitis, posterior uveitis, and intermediate uveitis. Women have slightly higher rates of uveitis overall. Although most surveys show that uveitis incidence peaks between 20 and 60 years of age, recent data suggests that it may also increase over the age of 65. Prevalence is about five- to tenfold lower in children than in adults. Developing countries have higher rates of infectious uveitis and posterior and panuveitis compared to industrialized nations. Certain uveitides have greater distribution by geographic region, such as birdshot chorioretinopathy in western Europe, Behçet disease in Turkey and China, and tuberculous uveitis in India. Chapters 8 and 9 discuss specific uveitic entities in further detail.
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Acharya NR, Tham VM, Esterberg E, et al. Incidence and prevalence of uveitis: results from the Pacific Ocular Inflammation Study. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(11):1405–1412.
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Gritz DC, Wong IG. Incidence and prevalence of uveitis in Northern California; the Northern California Epidemiology of Uveitis Study. Ophthalmology. 2004;111(3):491–500.
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Rathinam SR, Krishnadas R, Ramakrishnan R, Thulasiraj RD, Tielsch JM, Katz J, Robin AL, Kempen JH; Aravind Comprehensive Eye Survey Research Group. Population-based prevalence of uveitis in Southern India. Br J Ophthalmol. 2011;95:463–467.
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Rim TH, Kim SS, Ham D, Yu S, Chung EJ, Lee SC; Korean Uveitis Society. Incidence and prevalence of uveitis in South Korea: a nationwide cohort study. Br J Ophthalmol. 2018; 102(1):79–83.
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Thorne JE, Suhler E, Skup M, Tari S, et al. Prevalence of noninfectious uveitis in the United States: a claims-based analysis. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134(11):123–1245.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 9 - Uveitis and Ocular Inflammation. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.