Incidence and Prevalence of Scleritis Subtypes and Associated Ocular Complications in the TriNetX Database.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the demographics, systemic and ocular comorbidities, and the yearly and cumulative incidence and prevalence of scleritis in the TriNetX United States Collaborative Network database from 2014 to 2023.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

Out of 109,154,791 patients in TriNetX, 41,435 were diagnosed with scleritis.

METHODS

Data were collected and analyzed by scleritis subtype: anterior, posterior, scleritis with corneal involvement, and scleromalacia perforans. Data collected included demographics, concurrent use of immunosuppressants, presence of an associated systemic disease, and ocular complications.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence and prevalence (yearly and cumulative) of scleritis and its subtypes. Incidence of scleritis stratified by age and low vision and blindness in the scleritis cohort were analyzed from 2014 to 2023.

RESULTS

Of the 41,435 scleritis patients, the majority were Caucasian (56.6%) and female (62.5%) with a mean ± standard deviation age of 58 ± 18 years. The most commonly prescribed immunosuppressants were prednisone, methylprednisolone, and methotrexate (34.1%, 22.4%, and 8.7%). The most commonly associated systemic disease was rheumatoid arthritis (9.9%), and the most prevalent ocular complication was glaucoma (9.9%). The 10-year cumulative incidence and 10-year prevalence rates of scleritis were 6.8 cases per 100,000 person-years and 35.4 cases per 100,000 persons, respectively. The 10-year cumulative incidence of low vision and blindness in the cohort of scleritis was 1263.6 cases per 100,000 person-years.

CONCLUSIONS

Demographics and comorbidities of the TriNetX scleritis cohort were similar to scleritis cohorts in previous studies. However, the overall scleritis incidence rate was higher when compared to the previous literature, with varying yearly incidence and prevalence scleritis subtype rates. Further research is needed to assess for the increasing incidence of low vision over time.