Abstract
Purpose :
Prior investigations have found an association of ocular disorders with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our study seeks to assess the risk of corneal and external eye diseases in this population.
Methods :
This retrospective cohort study utilized data from TriNetX (Cambridge, MA, USA). Patients diagnosed with IBD were identified using ICD 10 codes for Crohn’s disease (K50) and ulcerative colitis (UC; K51) between January 2018 to December 2021. A control cohort consisting of healthy patients was identified using ICD-10 code Z00.00 (encounter for general adult medical examination without abnormal findings) between 2018 and 2021. Only those 55 years of age or more were included. Propensity score matching (PSM; 1:1) was used to balance cohorts in terms of demographics, family history of colonic polyps, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, nicotine dependence, long-term NSAID use, and other important factors related to IBD. Post-PSM, relative risk ratios (RR) were calculated. Subgroup analysis was conducted comparing outcomes between patients with Crohn’s disease and UC.
Results :
Post-PSM, each cohort included 159,018 patients. We found an elevated risk for iridocyclitis (RR: 1.874), scleritis (RR: 1.415), episcleritis (RR: 1.304), and corneal ulcer (RR: 1.281) in the IBD cohort compared to their counterparts. There was a reduced risk for corneal scars and opacities (RR: 0.687), acute atopic conjunctivitis (RR: 0.57), blepharoconjunctivitis (RR: 0.453), hereditary corneal dystrophies (RR: 0.726), keratoconus (RR: 0.703), chronic follicular conjunctivitis (RR: 0.56), nodular corneal degeneration (RR: 0.696), and dry eye syndrome (RR: 0.675) in the study cohort compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in risk for vernal conjunctivitis, neurotrophic keratoconjunctivitis, phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis, peripheral corneal degeneration, and corneal ectasia between groups (all p > 0.05). In a subgroup analysis between Crohn's disease and UC patients, there were no significant differences in the risk of above-mentioned diseases (all p > 0.05).
Conclusions :
Our study demonstrates elevated risk for some corneal and external eye disorders and decreased risk for others in patients with IBD. Awareness of possible associations and their complications is crucial for early detection and appropriate management in this population.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.