title: Epidemiology of Behçet disease.
abstract: Behçet disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disorder that is an important cause of morbidity worldwide. BD is most common along the ancient "Silk Road" route in the Far East and Mediterranean basin. The eye is the most commonly involved organ in BD patients.The prototypical form of involvement is a relapsing remitting panuveitis and retinal vasculitis. Less commonly, BD may present in the form of conjunctivitis, conjunctival ulcers, keratitis, episcleritis, scleritis, and extraocular muscle paralysis. Uveitis in BD carries significant implications for the patient, because it is a chronic recurrent disease characterized by explosive attacks of severe inflammation that may cause significant, cumulative damage to the intraocular structures. This review summarizes the epidemiology of systemic and ocular clinical features of BD with particular focus on risk factors, clinical characteristics, complications, and prognosis of BD-associated uveitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia. moncef.khairallah@rns.tn
authors.forename: Moncef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khairallah
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Accorinti
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muccioli
authors.forename: Rim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kahloun
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kempen
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015864:Panuveitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D031300:Retinal Vasculitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D015423:Scleritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014605:Uveitis / Q000453:epidemiology