Purpose To assess risk of developing ocular complications in privately insured US patients with persistent non‐anterior NIU compared to matched controls without uveitis.
Methods Adults 18–64 years old with ≥2 NIU ICD‐9‐CM claims for intermediate‐, posterior‐ or pan‐NIU were identified (OptumHealth, 01/01/1998–31/03/2012), and those with ≥90 days of corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and/or biologics use were defined as persistent cases. Cases were matched 1:1 by sex, age, region, company, employment status, and index date to controls. Risks of developing ocular complications were compared using unadjusted Kaplan‐Meier survival (risk of and time to complications) and adjusted Cox regression (hazard ratios) analyses.
Results During the follow‐up period, persistent cases (N=302) had significantly higher risk of any ocular complication vs their matched controls (P<.001); the 1‐, 5‐ and 10‐year risks were 55% vs 5%, 83% vs 27%, and 88% vs 49%, respectively. Five‐year risks of specific complications for cases vs controls were glaucoma (31% vs 10%), cataract (57% vs 14%), visual disturbance (41% vs 9%), blindness/low vision (4% vs 2%), retinal detachment (13% vs 1%), and retinal disorder (42% vs 3%). Adjusted analysis showed persistent cases had hazard rates that were 8.9, 8.1, 6.2, and 4.2 times higher than controls for any complication, visual disturbance, cataract, and glaucoma, respectively.
Conclusion Patients with persistent non‐anterior NIU are at high risk of ocular complications, which suggests high unmet need for an optimal treatment.
Commercial interest