title: Clinical manifestations in uveitis patients with and without rheumatic disease in a Chinese population in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Uveitis can be a local eye disease or a manifestation of systemic rheumatologic disorders. However, the differences of clinical manifestations between uveitis patients with or without systemic rheumatologic disease have been seldom described in literature. We investigated the clinical features and complications of rheumatic disease-related uveitis, and compared the characteristics in patients with and without rheumatic disease in a Chinese population in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review was performed for all patients who had been diagnosed with uveitis between January 2009 and June 2014 at the Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 823 uveitis patients were enrolled in the study, including 123 patients with rheumatic diseases. The most frequent rheumatic diseases included ankylosing spondylitis (5.8%), followed by Behçet's disease (2.8%), sarcoidosis (1.4%), psoriasis (1.1%), and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (1.1%). Compared with patients without rheumatic disease, those with rheumatic disease-related uveitis had a lower mean age at onset (35.1 ± 15.8 years vs. 44.0 ± 17.5 years), a longer follow-up period (27.1 ± 25.3 months vs. 22.2 ± 23.0 months), a higher incidence of anterior uveitis (69.0% vs. 46.3%), less frequent posterior uveitis (4.9% vs. 21.4%), a higher incidence of recurrence (26.8% vs. 14.1%), more frequent bilateral involvement (53.7% vs. 38.8%), and more frequent posterior synechiae (17.2% vs. 9.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The disease course and clinical manifestations of rheumatic disease-related uveitis were different from those unrelated. Patients with rheumatic disease-related uveitis had a higher recurrent rate and more frequent posterior synechiae than patients without rheumatic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shi-Ting
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Chieh
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jing-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: kjaecqaa@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kuo-Wei
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: yihshiou.hwang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yih-Shiou
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology; D005123:Eye / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D013624:Taiwan; D014605:Uveitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: autoimmune disease; epidemiology; rheumatic disease; uveitis