Differences in the prevalence of uveitis between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Purpose Uveitis is one of the ocular manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is often overlooked and has been considered a sign of severe IBD. As typical subtypes of IBD, differences exist in the prevalence of uveitis between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Our study systematically assessed differences in the prevalence of uveitis between CD and UC. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used. We performed a systematic review of published literature from PubMed and Embase on 30 March 2022. Two investigators independently selected studies, extracted data and evaluated methodological quality. Either a fixed‐ or a random‐effects model was used to calculate the risk ratio (RR), odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) depending on the heterogeneity of studies. Sensitivity analysis was used to examine the heterogeneity by removing article by article, while subgroup analysis was conducted in accordance with various regions. Results Our study included data from 14 studies encompassing 115 854 participants. The prevalence of uveitis in IBD was estimated to be 2.38% (95% CI 1.60%–3.17%). The prevalence of uveitis in CD (3.27%, 95% CI 2.15%–4.39%) was significantly higher than in UC (1.60%, 95% CI 0.93%–2.27%; RR 1.76, 95% CI 1.39–2.22, p < 0.05). In subgroup analysis, a higher incidence of CD combined with uveitis was also observed in IBD patients residing in Europe (RR 1.75, 95% CI 1.37–2.24). Conclusions Data from 115 854 IBD patients showed that CD patients were more likely to suffer from uveitis than UC patients. Ocular manifestations in IBD, particularly CD, warrant greater attention.