Bidirectional association between uveitis and psoriasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the prevalence of uveitis among patients with psoriasis has shown a noticeable upward trend. Previous studies have investigated the immunological mechanisms underlying the potential connection between psoriasis and uveitis, but systematic studies exploring their bidirectional relationship is absent. This study aims to systematically evaluate the bidirectional association between psoriasis and uveitis to provide evidence.

METHODS

We thoroughly searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for relevant observational studies published from the inception of these databases up to Mar 11th, 2024. Our systematic review was based on priori protocol pre-registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42024522464). Risk and bias assessments were analyzed using STATA 16.0.

RESULTS

We analyzed the results from 7 studies involving 81,775,820 subjects. The results showed that the incidence of uveitis was higher in patients with psoriasis compared to patients without psoriasis (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.11-1.21). At the same time, patients with uveitis showed heightened susceptibility to psoriasis (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.34-1.70, I2: 90.6%, P < 0.01). The subgroup analysis found that uveitis affects the severity and type of psoriasis.

CONCLUSIONS

The current systematic review and meta-analysis found a bidirectional association between psoriasis and uveitis. Notably, patients with severe psoriasis and psoriasis with joint symptoms should be informed about their increased risk to developing uveitis.