Epidemiology of uveitis in a referral hospital in Turkey

Aim: To investigate the causes and clinical characteristics of uveitis in patients presenting to a specialized eye hospital in Turkey. Materials and methods: The clinical records of 1028 uveitis patients admitted between 1990 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Age at first presentation, sex, laterality, etiology, associated systemic disease, clinical presentation, and course of the disease were noted. Results: The mean age at presentation was 36.23 +/- 14.9 years. Males constituted 58.2% of patients. Anatomically, anterior uveitis (42%) was most common, followed by posterior uveitis (24.9%), panuveitis (24.7%), and intermediate uveitis (8.4%). The course of the disease was mostly chronic (65.7%). The cases were idiopathic at 25.7% and Behcet's disease (BD) was the most common cause of uveitis (32.2%), followed by ocular toxoplasmosis (7.2%) and herpetic uveitis (6.8%). Conclusion: Uveitis tends to affect patients between 20 and 40 years old. BD is the most common cause, leading to male predominance and a higher frequency of a chronic course.