Serial Frequencies and Clinical Features of Uveitis in Hokkaido, Japan

Environmental and lifestyle changes influence the clinical features of uveitis. This study reviewed the epidemiologic trends of uveitis in the Japanese population.

A retrospective review of the past 80 years of reports from Hokkaido University Hospital.

In the 1930s, tuberculosis accounted for 46% and syphilitic uveitis for 31% of cases. The frequency of these diseases decreased to 12% in the 1950s; 8% in 1969; 0.6% in the 1990s; and 0.8% in the 2000s, while the rate of non-infectious uveitis increased. The three most common specific diagnoses were: sarcoidosis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, and Behçet disease. Although Behçet disease was the most frequent non-infectious uveitis until the 1980s, sarcoidosis is now the most frequent cause of newly diagnosed non-infectious uveitis.

The etiology of uveitis has changed with the times. Tubercular and syphilitic cases have greatly decreased, and sarcoidosis is the most frequent type of uveitis today.