Hidradenitis Suppurativa Linked to Higher Uveitis Risk

TOPLINE:

A cohort study suggests that people with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have twice the incidence of noninfectious uveitis (NIU) as controls, an association that remained significant after adjusting for demographic characteristics and comorbidities.

METHODOLOGY:

• This retrospective cohort study analyzed data on adults with HS (n = 21,386) and control individuals (n = 1,278,632) from over 40 healthcare systems across the United States using an electronic health records database (Explorys) between 2011 and 2019.
• The primary endpoint was a new diagnosis of NIU, based on International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 and corresponding ICD-9 codes. The analysis excluded patients diagnosed with NIU before the index date or diagnosed with infectious uveitis (IU) or another infection within 2 years before the index date. Patients were followed up until the diagnosis of NIU or IU, last encounter, or February 29, 2020, whichever occurred first.
• Patients in the HS vs control group had a mean age of 40.5 vs 49.4 years, with the HS group having a higher proportion of women (76% vs 60%) and Black individuals (29% vs 10%).

TAKEAWAY:

• The incidence of NIU per 10,000 person-years was significantly higher in the people with HS than in control individuals (11.3 vs 5.5; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.37; 95% CI, 1.07-1.75) after accounting for comorbidities.
• Black vs White patients in the HS group showed higher NIU incidence rates (17.6 vs 7.8 per 10,000 person-years) than those in the control group (14.3 vs 4.3 per 10,000 person-years).
• The age-related incidence of NIU per 10,000 person-years increased from 6.7 in patients with HS aged 18-29 years to 18.9 in those aged 60 years or older.
• The association between HS and NIU remained independent of comorbid conditions including seronegative spondyloarthropathy.

IN PRACTICE:

In the analysis, the authors wrote, “Crude incidence of NIU was twice as high among HS compared to control patients, and a strong association remained independently of demographic differences.” The association was “attenuated somewhat when additionally accounting for comorbidities related to NIU but remained moderately strong (HR, 1.37),” they added, suggesting that “the increased incidence of NIU in HS patients is partially attributable to greater prevalence of other NIU risk factors, such as IBD [inflammatory bowel disease], rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic disease.”

SOURCE:

This study was led by Temitope Ayodele, Department of Dermatology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New Hyde Park, New York. It was published online on January 7, 2025, in the British Journal of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

This study was limited by potential misclassification of HS and NIU diagnoses related to improper documentation or misdiagnoses in the database.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received no specific grant from any funding agency. Some authors reported having clinical trial contracts and receiving research grants; scientific awards; honoraria for consulting, advisory board participation, or lectures from various organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Details are provided in the original article.

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