Burden of Noninfectious Uveitis on Quality of Life

TOPLINE:

Noninfectious uveitis (NIU) significantly affects quality of life (QOL), with both adult and pediatric patients having lower scores on measures of physical and mental health-related QOL (HRQOL) than people without the eye condition.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies involving adult and pediatric patients with NIU.
• Data were extracted from MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases from inception to March 2023.
• Patients with NIU were compared with healthy control individuals or patients with conditions other than NIU, along with those with or without systemic disease.
• The primary outcome was QOL.

TAKEAWAY:

• In a meta-analysis of four studies, children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)–associated uveitis and their parents had lower HRQOL scores than those with nonuveitic JIA (mean difference [MD], −5.26; 95% CI, −7.24 to −3.28).
• Four studies showed adults with NIU and systemic disease scored significantly lower on the mental component summary of the 36-Item Short Form Survey for QOL (MD, −5.63; 95% CI, −9.37 to −1.88) than healthy controls.

IN PRACTICE:

“As the burden of NIU [noninfectious uveitis] increases on patients, families, and the healthcare system, it is imperative to understand the economic, epidemiological, and social implications of NIU,” the authors of the study wrote. “The need for uveitis-specific PROMs [patient-reported outcome measures] is clear to better assess NIU’s impact,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Aswen Sriranganathan, MD(C), Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was published online on November 8, 2024, in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS: 

Study limitations included the heterogeneity of the included studies, with regard to countries, study designs, demographic characteristics of the participants, and the evaluation methods of QOL. The use of different QOL instruments limited comparability across studies. The geographic distribution of the studies, with a predominance from Europe, may limit the applicability of the findings to other regions.

DISCLOSURES:

The study did not receive any specific funding. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.