Seasonal Patterns of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada Disease

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To identify the relationship between the incidence of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease and seasonality.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was performed, including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of VKH whose month of disease onset was available. Information on patients was entered retrospectively into a database and analyzed according to the month and season.

Results

Twenty-four patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. There was a statistically significant deviation from expected values in the incidences of VKH per season (P = .043). The most common season for the onset of VKH was fall, with 50% of the patients presenting in this season, while spring was the least common season for VKH presentation, with 12.5% of the patients presenting in this season.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that the onset of VKH in Puerto Rico follows a seasonal pattern, with most cases occurring during the fall.

KEYWORDS:

• Autoimmune disease
• panuveitis
• seasonal patterns
• uveitis
• Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada

Disclosure statement

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

Supplementary material

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

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.