Risk Factors for Cystoid Macular Oedema in Patients with Uveitis

Purpose: To determine ophthalmologic and systemic factors associated with the presence of cystoid macular oedema (CMO) in patients with uveitis.

Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study in which 97 consecutive patients with uveitis filled in an extensive questionnaire for the presence of cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors. An analysis of the ophthalmologic and questionnaire data was conducted.

Results: CMO was present in 44% (43/97) of patients. Its presence was strongly associated with increasing age (P=0.001) and age at onset of uveitis (P<0.001). For patients older than 50 years, the risk of having CMO was 3.8-fold (95% confidence intervals 1.6-9.0) larger than for younger patients. The most frequent anatomic location of uveitis associated with CMO was panuveitis (49%). Papillary leakage on fluorescein angiography was associated with CMO (P<0.001), independently of other risk factors. After adjustment for age, multivariate logistic regression showed no association between cardiovascular disease and its risk factors and the presence of CMO.

Conclusions: Age, independent of duration of uveitis, was a major risk factor for the presence of CMO in uveitis. A positive correlation between CMO and papillary leakage on angiography was noted.