title: Prevalence of uveitis in indigenous populations presenting to remote clinics of central Australia: the Central Australian Ocular Health Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To report the prevalence of current and previous uveitis within the indigenous population living within Central Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based cross-sectional study in Central Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand eight hundred and eighty-four subjects who identified themselves as indigenous Australians, presenting to the remote clinics during the 36-month period between July 2005 and June 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical assessments for active or previous uveitis were performed. Data were collected using a standardized form.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prevalence of various types of uveitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four of 1881 subjects had evidence of previous or current anterior uveitis, giving a prevalence for anterior uveitis of 0.21% (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.42%). Eleven of 1854 patients had signs of previous posterior uveitis, giving a prevalence for posterior uveitis of 0.59% (95% confidence interval 0.24-0.94%). Nine of the 11 patients with posterior uveitis cases (82%) had presumed toxoplasma retinochoroiditis. There were no cases of intermediate uveitis or panuveitis observed in this study. There were no observed cases consistent with well-recognized clinical uveitic syndromes, such as Behçet's disease or Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A distinct pattern of uveitis appears to be present among indigenous population of remote Central Australia. Posterior uveitis was commoner than anterior uveitis with a predominance of toxoplasma retinochoroiditis. Environmental factors appeared to be more important in this genetically distinct population, with infective causes and ocular trauma being the most common aetiologies of uveitis.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders Drive, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia.
authors: John H
authors: JH
authors: Chang
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Landers
authors: Tim R M
authors: TR
authors: Henderson
authors: Jamie E
authors: JE
authors: Craig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015876:Northern Territory / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*