Prevalence of uveitis in indigenous populations presenting to remote clinics of central Australia: The Central Australian Ocular Health Study

• Published in: Clinical & experimental ophthalmology Vol. 40; no. 5; pp. 448 - 453
• Main Authors: Chang, John H, Landers, John, Henderson, Tim RM, Craig, Jamie E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Blackwell Publishing Asia 01.07.2012; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Central Australian; Cross-Sectional Studies; epidemiology; Female; Health Services, Indigenous - statistics & numerical data; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Northern Territory - epidemiology; Ocular Health Study; Prevalence; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; uveitis; Uveitis - classification; Uveitis - diagnosis; Uveitis - ethnology; Northern Territory
• ISSN: 1442-6404; 1442-9071; 1442-9071
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9071.2011.02726.x

Background:  To report the prevalence of current and previous uveitis within the indigenous population living within Central Australia. Design:  Population‐based cross‐sectional study in Central Australia. Participants:  One thousand eight hundred and eighty‐four subjects who identified themselves as indigenous Australians, presenting to the remote clinics during the 36‐month period between July 2005 and June 2008. Methods:  Clinical assessments for active or previous uveitis were performed. Data were collected using a standardized form. Main Outcome Measures:  Prevalence of various types of uveitis. Results:  Four of 1881 subjects had evidence of previous or current anterior uveitis, giving a prevalence for anterior uveitis of 0.21% (95% confidence interval, 0.01–0.42%). Eleven of 1854 patients had signs of previous posterior uveitis, giving a prevalence for posterior uveitis of 0.59% (95% confidence inteval 0.24–0.94%). Nine of the 11 patients with posterior uveitis cases (82%) had presumed toxoplasma retinochoroiditis. There were no cases of intermediate uveitis or panuveitis observed in this study. There were no observed cases consistent with well‐recognized clinical uveitic syndromes, such as Behçet's disease or Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome. Conclusions:  A distinct pattern of uveitis appears to be present among indigenous population of remote Central Australia. Posterior uveitis was commoner than anterior uveitis with a predominance of toxoplasma retinochoroiditis. Environmental factors appeared to be more important in this genetically distinct population, with infective causes and ocular trauma being the most common aetiologies of uveitis.