Burden of macular complications in Japanese patients aged 75 years and over with sarcoid uveitis.

PURPOSE

To investigate the epidemiology and complications of sarcoid uveitis in older Japanese patients.

METHODS

A single-center, retrospective cohort study. Medical records of patients aged ≥ 65 years with sarcoid uveitis at the Institute of Science Tokyo Hospital between 2012 and 2022 were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 37 patients (73 eyes) included, mean age was 72.9 ± 6.3 years; male-to-female ratio was 1:4.3. Anatomically, most patients had panuveitis (67.6%) or anterior uveitis (18.9%). Ocular symptoms were the most common initial presentation (89.2%). Ocular complications occurred in all eyes, most frequently cataract (80.8%), glaucoma (47.9%), and ocular hypertension (37.0%). Macular complications occurred in 35.6% of eyes and were significantly more frequent in patients aged ≥ 75 years than in those aged 65-74 years (60% vs. 14%; p < 0.0001). The proportion of eyes with best-corrected visual acuity ≤ 0.1 logMAR is 58.1% at baseline, 58.3% at 6 months, 52.3% at 1 year, and 68.8% at 3 years.

CONCLUSION

Our study uniquely identifies patients aged ≥ 75 years as a previously unrecognized high-risk group for macular complications (60% vs. 14% in those aged 65-74 years). In this cohort of older Japanese patients with sarcoid uveitis, we observed a female predominance, predominantly bilateral panuveitis, and frequent ocular complications including cataract, glaucoma, and ocular hypertension. Ocular symptoms were the typical initial presentation, and early recognition with prompt intervention is critical to prevent irreversible vision loss and optimize visual outcomes in this vulnerable population.