Study findings show the hazard ratio (HR) for uveitis was significantly higher among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared to the general population.

These findings were presented by Nizar Hijaze, MD, BSc, Carmel medical Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel, at the virtual American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2021.

“PsA belongs to the group of spondyloarthropathies in which uveitis is an associated disease. The prevalence of uveitis among PsA patients especially in the era of biologic treatment is not well established,” explained Dr Hijaze and colleagues.

This retrospective database study examined the prevalence of uveitis among patients with PsA compared to the general population. A total of 6147 adult patients newly diagnosed with PsA between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2020, were included in the study and compared to 23,999 randomly selected controls.

Controls were matched for age, sex, ethnicity, and index date, defined as the date of diagnosis. Both groups were followed from the index date until the first episode of uveitis, death, or end of follow-up.

Data were extracted on participants’ demographics, smoking status, socioeconomic status, body mass index, presence of selected chronic comorbidities, and medication use.

Researchers used marginal model with robust covariant estimate counting for matching to estimate the crude and adjusted hazard ratio for the association between PsA and uveitis. Cox proportional hazard regression time dependent models were used to calculate risk of uveitis in the PsA group.

Of the 6147 patients in the PsA group, 53.1% were female. A total of 107 (1.7%) patients in the PsA group were diagnosed with uveitis compared to 187 (.8%) patients in the control group (P <.0001, HR 2.25, CI 1.78-2.86). Patients diagnosed with uveitis were more often female in the PsA group (64.5%) vs those in the control group (51.9%, P = .036).

Patients with uveitis in the PsA group had previous history of uveitis (HR 33.56) and were more often treated with conventional and biologic disease-modifying anti-rhematic drugs (83.2% vs 67.1%, P <.0001), monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor-a (anti-TNF-a) agents (68.2% vs 38.6%, P <.0001), and etanercept (37.4% vs 20.8%, P <.0001).

There was no difference reported between patients treated with anti-IL-17 or anti-IL12/23 agents regarding occurrence of uveitis. In addition, no difference in occurrence of uveitis was reported based on demographic characteristics and comorbidities.

—Janelle Bradley

Reference:
Hijaze N, Gazitt T, Haddad A, et al. Uveitis in patients with psoriatic arthritis – a database analysis. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2021; November 5-9, 2021; virtual. Abstract 1321.