Clinical features of intraocular inflammation in Hokkaido, Japan.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the clinical features of intraocular inflammation/uveitis in Hokkaido, Japan.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1240 uveitis patients (511 men, 729 women) who visited Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Japan between 1994 and 2003.

RESULTS

Mean age at disease onset was 41.7 +/- 17.8 years in men and 45.7 +/- 18.3 years in women. Anterior, posterior and combined anterior and posterior segment intraocular inflammation accounted for 45.1%, 4.7% and 50.2% of cases, respectively. Sarcoidosis was the most frequent aetiology (14.9%), followed by Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease (9.7%) and Behçet's disease (6.7%). Aetiologies in 49.8% patients were unknown. In sarcoidosis, women represented 72.4% of patients, and disease onset occurred at 35.1 +/- 19.0 years of age in men and 50.3 +/- 16.5 years in women. In VKH disease, 54.2% of patients were women, and disease onset took place at 45.9 +/- 15.8 years in men and 46.4 +/- 14.1 years in women. In Behçet's disease, men accounted for 56.6% of patients, and disease onset occurred at 35.5 +/- 8.5 years in men and 44.5 +/- 11.5 years in women.

CONCLUSIONS

Women were more prone to developing sarcoidosis compared with men. By contrast, men were more prone to developing Behçet's disease. The mean age at disease onset in both sarcoidosis and Behçet's disease was significantly lower in men than in women.