Analysis of the impact of allergy and atopy on new onset of uveitis.

PURPOSE: 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.