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The effect of pregnancy on the course of uveitis in single and multiple pregnancies

  • Inflammatory Disorders
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Abstract

Purpose

To explore the effect of pregnancy on the clinical course, outcome, and treatment in multiparous women with non-infectious uveitis.

Methods

Retrospective study of women with a history of non-infectious uveitis and pregnancies prior to and during disease course. Disease activity and severity 1-year prior pregnancy, during pregnancy, and 1-year postpartum were recorded as well as patients’ and diseases’ characteristics. The main outcome measures included the rate and severity of uveitis attacks and the effect on ocular complications and therapies.

Results

Included were 32 women (70 pregnancies, mean of 2.6 pregnancies/patient), with a mean follow-up time of 6.5 years. The most common uveitis types were anterior (31%) and pan-uveitis (31%). Flare-ups were more frequent in the year prior to pregnancy, in the first trimester, and in the postpartum period and decreased markedly during pregnancy. Women who experienced a flare-up during pregnancy had a higher rate of flare-ups in the year prior pregnancy than those who did not experience a flare-up during pregnancy (p-0.047). The rate of flare-ups 12 months’ postpartum was also higher compared to women without any flare-up during pregnancy (p = 0.01). Severity of flare-ups in the postpartum period was worse in women who experienced a flare-up during pregnancy compared to women without flare-ups (p = 0.001). The severity of flare-ups was higher in the first pregnancy compared to subsequent pregnancies.

Conclusions

Women who had active or non-controlled uveitis prior to pregnancy have higher disease activity and severity during pregnancy as well. The first pregnancy seems to behave differently from subsequent pregnancies, in terms of disease severity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital, 39 Jabotinsky St., 49100, Petach Tikva, Israel

    Yael Sharon, Avital Adler, Alon Tiosano & Michal Kramer

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yael Sharon, Avital Adler, Alon Tiosano, Juan M. Sanchez & Michal Kramer

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    Juan M. Sanchez & Radgonde Amer

Authors
  1. Yael Sharon
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  2. Avital Adler
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  3. Alon Tiosano
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  4. Juan M. Sanchez
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  5. Radgonde Amer
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  6. Michal Kramer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yael Sharon.

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Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the (Rabin Medical Center, Petah-Tikva, Israel, and Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was not applicable in this study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Sharon, Y., Adler, A., Tiosano, A. et al. The effect of pregnancy on the course of uveitis in single and multiple pregnancies. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 261, 803–808 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-022-05829-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-022-05829-w

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