The Association of Race With Childhood Uveitis

Purpose To identify risk factors for a severe uveitis course among children with noninfectious uveitis. Design Retrospective cohort study. Method This was a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database. Records of 94 children with uveitis were reviewed at enrollment and every 3–6 months (2011–2015). Severe uveitis was defined as a history of ocular complications or a visual acuity (VA) of ≤20/200. Children were compared by disease, VA, complications, and race. Regression models were used to model risk factors for severe disease. When examining race, we focused on non-Hispanic African-American and non-Hispanic white children only. Results Of 85 children with uveitis and complete ocular examinations, 27 (32%) had a history of a VA of ≤20/200. A subanalysis of non-Hispanic African-American and white children showed an increased prevalence of VA ≤20/200 in non-Hispanic African-Americans (18/25; 72% vs 4/43; 9%). Non-Hispanic African-Americans were more likely to be diagnosed at an older age ( P  = .030) and to have intermediate uveitis ( P  = .026), bilateral disease ( P  = .032), a history of VA ≤20/50 ( P  = .002), VA ≤20/200 ( P P P Conclusions There appear to be racial differences in the outcomes of children with uveitis. Non-Hispanic African-American children with non–juvenile idiopathic arthritis–associated uveitis may have worse visual outcomes with increased vision loss and ocular complications. These findings highlight the need for future studies in minority populations.