Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease in a Native American population in Oklahoma

To describe the presentation, features, and outcomes of patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) seen by uveitis specialists in Oklahoma.

Clinical data were collected for 26 patients (52 eyes) diagnosed with VKH and seen between 1992 and 2018. Main outcome measures included rates of visual loss, ocular complications, and remission.

There were 11 Native American (NA) patients (11/26, 42.3%) and 15 non-Natives (n-NA). NA VKH patients were significantly more likely to present at a younger age (18.6 years) than n-NA VKH patients (30.1 years) (p = 0.023). NA patients were less likely to have meningismus (0.00 vs. 42.9%; 0.048) or systemic symptoms (50.0% vs. 93.3%; p = 0.023) than n-NA patients, but more likely to develop cataracts (100.0% vs. 66.7%; p = 0.003). There were similar rates of macular edema, epiretinal membrane, subretinal fibrosis, and recurrent uveitis between the two groups. Oral corticosteroid use was similar between both groups (72.7% vs. 86.7%; p = 0.61).

VKH may manifest with earlier disease course in NA patients than n-NA patients, particularly regarding ocular findings. However, NA patients were less likely to have systemic symptoms than n-NA patients.