Epidemiology of Uveitis in Olmsted County, Minnesota: A Population-Based Follow-Up Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To update the incidence of uveitis in a Midwestern U.S. county population.

Methods

Retrospective population-based cohort study. All Olmsted County, Minnesota residents diagnosed with uveitis from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015 were identified via the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Diagnoses were confirmed by a uveitis specialist.

Results

There were 371 incident uveitis cases, yielding an overall age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate of 26.9 per 100,000 per year (95% CI: 24.1–29.7). Females accounted for 202 (54.4%) cases, 306 (82.5%) were White, and 299 (80.6%) were anterior uveitis. Highest incidence was observed in patients ≥65 years old. No difference in incidence existed between sexes (p = .17). Incidence rates increased with age for uveitis overall (all anatomic subtypes) (p < .001), anterior uveitis (p < .001), and posterior uveitis (p < .001). Idiopathic uveitis accounted for 168 (45.3%) cases, more frequently diagnosed in females (50.0%) than males (39.6%) (p = .05).

Conclusion

Uveitis incidence increased 1.6-fold over a 50-year span in this predominately White U.S. Midwestern county population.

KEYWORDS:

• Uveitis
• epidemiology
• population-based

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data supporting the results are available upon reasonable request to the senior author.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This study was made possible using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number [R01AG034676]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The funding source had no role in conduct of the research and preparation of the article.