INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF NONINFECTIOUS UVEITIS: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract

To estimate the incidence and prevalence of noninfectious uveitis (NIU). A systematic literature search was conducted of electronic databases including Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus from 2020 to September 2025. A random-effects meta-analysis pooled incidence and prevalence data across various demographic and comorbid contexts. From 15,172 initial studies, 106 were included. The pooled prevalence of NIU was 131.6 (95% CI 28.1-613.9) for adults and 27.4 (95% CI 6.3-118.3) for pediatrics per 100,000 persons. Pooled incidence of NIU was 204.4 (95% CI 0.0-438.9) for adults and 16.0 (95% CI 6.5-25.6) for pediatrics per 100,000 person-years. Increased incidence and prevalence of NIU were seen in populations of Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (SpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and Behcet disease (BD). The prevalence of NIU in JIA was 129.2 (95% CI 94.2-174.7) per 1,000 persons and incidence was 22.4 (95% CI 2.5-42.4) per 1,000 person-years. The prevalence and incidence of NIU in SpA was 153.5 (95% CI 122.0-191.4) per 1,000 persons and 33.5 (95% CI 0.0-69.2) per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The prevalence and incidence of NIU in PsA was 27.3 (95% CI 18.1-41.2) per 1,000 persons and 13.1 (95% CI 0.0-32.5) per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The prevalence of NIU in AS and BD was 183.5 (95% CI 137.8-240.1) and 148.6 (95% CI 17.6-629.9) per 1,000 persons, respectively. NIU incidence and prevalence were higher in adults than in children, and in populations with specific conditions such as JIA and AS.