AUTHOR=Chen Xiao-Huan , Shi Jia-Cheng , Wei James Cheng-Chung , Chen Hsin-Hua , Mo Han-You 

TITLE=Increased Risk of Retinal Vasculitis in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.739883

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.739883

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> To evaluate the relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the risk of retinal vasculitis (RV) using a population-based database.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Using the 1997–2013 Taiwanese National Health Insurance Database, we identified newly diagnosed SLE patients between 2001 and 2012 as the SLE group. We matched the SLE group with non-SLE individuals selected from a representative one million sample of the population in a 1:20 ratio for age, sex, and the year of the index date. After adjusting for potential confounders, including urbanization of the patient's residence, the level of the payroll-related insured amount, and selected comorbidities, we examined the association between SLE and the risk of RV using the Cox proportional hazard model shown as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Sensitivity analyses were conducted using various definitions of RV.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> We included 11,586 patients with SLE and 231,720 matched non-SLE individuals. The mean age of the study participants was 36.7 ± 16.9 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 6.8:1. The incidence rates of RV were 56.39 cases per 100,000 person-years and 2.45 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, the incidence rate of RV in the SLE cohort was 22.99 times higher than that in the non-SLE cohort (56.39 vs. 2.45 per 100,000 person-years). The adjusted HR for RV in the SLE group was 23.61 (95% CI, 14.94–37.32). The results remained robust in the sensitivity analysis.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> This nationwide population-based study revealed that SLE patients had a significantly higher risk of RV than non-SLE individuals.</p>