Analysis of the impact of allergy and atopy on new onset of uveitis.
OBJECTIVE
The inappropriate immune response to harmless foreign and self-antigens is a common feature of allergy, atopy and autoimmune disease. The influence of environmental factors in the initiation of autoimmunity is not well understood. It is conceivable that immune responses to allergens may also serve as a trigger of bystander immune reactions, including autoimmunity such as uveitis. Therefore, we wanted to investigate the prevalence of allergies and atopy in patients with different types of uveitis in comparison to a control cohort.


METHODS
In total, 530 consecutive patients with new-onset anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis were compared to a non-uveitis control cohort consisting of 1.060 consecutive new-referral patients who attended our specialized outpatient clinics for other reasons than uveitis. Allergy and atopy status as well as demographic data (age, gender and ethnicity) were obtained by standardized interviewer-assisted questionnaires.


RESULTS
Uveitis case cohort and control cohort did not differ significantly in the allergy status (p = 0.910), such as the history of pollen allergy (p = 0.671), history of drug allergy (p = 0.920), history of food allergy (p = 0.941), history of house dust mite allergy (p = 0.197) or history of other allergens (p = 0.593), nor in the atopy status (p = 0.802), such as the history of atopic dermatitis (p = 0.365), history of asthma (p = 0.430) or history of allergic rhinitis (p = 0.115).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results argue against a substantial influence of allergies and atopy on the onset of uveitis.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Rafael S
RS
Grajewski
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Niusha
N
Barahmand Pour
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Katja
K
Burian
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Albert
A
Caramoy
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Bernd
B
Kirchhof
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Claus
C
Cursiefen
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Ludwig M
LM
Heindl
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014605:Uveitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
D000485:Allergens
allergy; atopy; autoimmunity; uveitis