Incidence and prevalence of paediatric noninfectious uveitis in South Korea

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the nationwide incidence and prevalence of paediatric uveitis in South Korea according to period, age, anatomic type, and systemic associations. Methods: This nationwide population‐based cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2002 to 2018. This study included patients with noninfectious uveitis with at least three claims of diagnostic codes of uveitis on separate days with at least once claim of prescription codes of steroid and immunosuppressive agents. All the cases were classified as anterior or non‐anterior uveitis, and the incidence and prevalence were estimated by age, sex, period, and systemic associations. Results: A total of 10 862 616 patients over 128 688 078 person‐years were evaluated from 2005 to 2016. Overall, 5368 cases of anterior uveitis and 604 cases of non‐anterior uveitis were identified. The incidence and prevalence of paediatric noninfectious uveitis were 4.64 per 100 000 person‐years and 8.25 per 100 000 persons. Both the incidence and prevalence increased with age. Anterior uveitis accounted for 84.7% of prevalent cases (6.99 per 100 000 persons). Cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)‐associated uveitis accounted for 8.7% of paediatric noninfectious uveitis cases with a prevalence of 0.72 per 100 000. The proportion of systemic associations was higher and JIA‐related uveitis accounted for 11.2% of recurrent or chronic cases with a prevalence of 0.62 per 100 000. Conclusions: This is the first population‐based study investigating the largest population of paediatric patients with uveitis in Korea. The nationwide incidence and prevalence in 2005–2016 were 4.64 per 100 000 person‐years and 8.25 per 100 000, respectively. The proportion of JIA in paediatric noninfectious uveitis was 8.7%. These population‐based study findings provide a better understanding of the public health burden and aid in the planning of health‐care strategies for paediatric patients with uveitis.