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. 2022 Jul 8;20(1):47.
doi: 10.1186/s12969-022-00704-8.

Uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis: a continued cohort study 40 years after uveitis onset

Angelika Skarin  1 , Elisabet Berthold  2 , Ola Rauer  3 , Elisabeth Bengtsson-Stigmar  3
Affiliations

Uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis: a continued cohort study 40 years after uveitis onset

Angelika Skarin et al. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. .

Abstract

Background: A third follow-up study, mean 40.7 years after uveitis onset, of a cohort originally consisting of 55 Swedish patients with uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis.

Method: A retrospective study of the patients' ophthalmic medical records. The results were compared to those of the same cohort previously studied at mean 7.2 and 24.0 years after uveitis onset. In the present follow-up study, 30 of the original 55 patients consented to participate. Of these, 26 had ophthalmic medical records that were reviewed.

Results: In the 30 participants, active uveitis was seen in 43.4%, cataracts in 66.6% and glaucoma in 40.0%. When comparing data from previous follow-ups of the same cohort, a total of 61.8% were reported to have had cataracts at any of the three follow-ups, 29.0% had glaucoma or ocular hypertension and 12.7% had severe visual impairment in both eyes. At mean 40.7 years after uveitis onset 20% of patients in the original uveitis cohort were deceased. In 4 of the 11 deceased individuals, rheumatic disease was stated as the main cause of death, and in 3 it was considered a contributory factor in the patients deaths.

Conclusions: Uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis can be active into midlife and possibly longer. Ocular complications and visual loss increased up to 40 years after uveitis diagnosis. The mortality rate of this cohort was higher than that of a corresponding Swedish population. Lifelong ophthalmic check-ups are probably necessary for patients diagnosed with this type of uveitis.

Keywords: Cohort; Follow-up; JCA; JIA; Juvenile chronic arthritis; Juvenile idiopathic arthritis; Mortality; Uveitis; Visual outcome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper. AS has previously served as an advisor for Santen Pharma AB, Sweden and has given lectures funded by AbbVie AB, Sweden.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Onset of uveitis in years in relation to onset of arthritis in all 55 patients in the original cohort. On the horizonal x-axis “0” indicates the year of arthritis diagnosis. The vertical y-axis represents the number of patients in this cohort with uveitis onset each year. In two cases uveitis was diagnosed before arthritis. In fours case uveitis onset was from 10 to 24 years after arthritis. The joint diseases in three of these was classified as oligoarthritis and one as polyarthritis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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