ABSTRACT.Purpose: To investigate the incidence and prevalence rates of different types of uveitis in children, and to compare them with the rates in adults. Subjects and methods: For this population-based retrospective study the medical records of all residents of the district of Turku University Hospital with a diagnosis of uveitis seen at the Eye Clinic of Turku University Hospital during the years 1980-1982 and 1988 were reviewed. Results: A total of 1122 uveitis cases were identified, and 55 (4.9%) of them were children under 16 years. The incidence per 100 000 population per year for all uveitis cases in children was 4.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2 to 6.4), and the prevalence was 27.9 (95% CI, 17.1 to 38.6), which was significantly lower compared with the rates in adults (pΩ0.001 for incidence and prevalence). The vast majority of children, 50 (90.9%), had anterior uveitis (AU), and the incidence and prevalence rates of AU were significantly lower than in adults (pΩ0.001 for incidence and prevalence). Three (5.5%) children had posterior uveitis (PU), but there was no significant difference in the incidence and only marginally significant difference in the prevalence rate of PU in children compared with the rates in adults (pΩ0.33 for incidence, and pΩ0.07 for prevalence). Only one case (1.8%) was found with intermediate and one with panuveitis, but no new cases. The commonest diagnostic groups in children were AU associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, idiopathic acute anterior uveitis, and idiopathic chronic anterior uveitis. Toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis was found in all of the PU cases with the incidence 0.3, and the prevalence 1.1, which did not differ significantly from the rates in adults (pΩ1.0 for incidence, and pΩ 0.48 for prevalence). Conclusion: Uveitis is rarer in children than in adults. However, in contrast to studies from tertiary referral centers, the distribution of different forms of uveitis in children in this population-based study seems to resemble the distribution in adults.

We studied the case records of 1122 patients with endogenous uveitis including 418 new cases treated at the University Eye Clinic in Turku during the years 1980-1982 and 1988. The mean annual incidence and prevalence rates (per 100,000 population) of idiopathic acute anterior uveitis were 17.1 and 48.5, respectively, sarcoid anterior uveitis 0.5 and 1.5, Posner-Schlossman syndrome 0.4 and 1.9, herpes zoster uveitis 0.4 and 0.7, idiopathic chronic anterior uveitis 0.3 and 7.3, herpes simplex keratouveitis 0.3 and 0.5, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis 0.2 and 2.4, Fuchs' heterochromic iridocyclitis 0.2 and 0.5, intermediate uveitis 0.3 and 1.4, and of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis 0.3 and 2.4. The incidence and prevalence rates of acute anterior uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis were 2.0 and 10.3 per 100,000 population, respectively, and this disease association occurred more often in men than in women (p < 0.001). The mean annual incidence of idiopathic acute anterior uveitis was significantly lower in the age group 0-19 years than in the other age groups (p < 0.001).

We studied the case records of 1122 patients with endogenous uveitis including 418 new cases treated at the University Eye Clinic in Turku during the years 1980-1982 and 1988. The mean annual incidence and prevalence rates of anterior uveitis were, respectively, 21.3 and 68.7 per 100,000, of posterior uveitis 0.8 and 4.6 per 100,000, of panuveitis 0.2 and 0.8 per 100 000, and of all uveitis cases 22.6 and 75.4 per 100,000 population. The incidence of uveitis was higher in the age group 20-69 years than in the age groups 0-19 years (p < 0.001) and 70 years or over (p = 0.049). The incidence rates were not different between sexes in any age group (p = 0.2). The incidence of uveitis was higher in lower socio-economic groups than in higher socio-economic groups (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of uveitis between sexes in different socio-economic groups (p = 0.1).

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 1122 patients with endogenous uveitis treated at the University Eye Clinic in Turku during the years 1980-1982 and 1988. Of the 1122 patients 568 were men and 554 women; 1034 (92.2%) had anterior uveitis, 15 (1.3%) intermediate uveitis, 64 (5.7%) posterior uveitis and 9(0.8%) panuveitis; 867 (77.3%) were unilateral and 255 bilateral; 789 of 1067 cases (73.9%) were of sudden onset and 278 of insidious onset; 808 of 1102 cases (73.3%) were of short duration and 294 of long duration; and 519 (46.3%) single and 603 repeated. In this study uveitis occurred significantly more often (44.2%) in the age group 20-39 years than in other age groups (p < 0.00001). Anterior and posterior uveitis were more often unilateral than bilateral (p < 0.0005) and of sudden onset than of insidious onset (p < 0.00008). Acute anterior uveitis was the most common uveitic entity and accounted for 745 cases (66.4%). Acute anterior uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis was the single most frequently seen diagnostic group including 144 cases (12.8%) with a statistically significant male predominance (p < 0.00001).

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To evaluate if there is a seasonal pattern to the incidence of endogenous uveitis in south-western Finland with special reference to acute anterior uveitis. Conclusion:The present data suggests that there is seasonal variation of the incidence of uveitis in south-western Finland.