Epidemiologic Relationhip Between Fuch Heterochromic Iridocycliti and the United tate Rubella Vaccination Program Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To invetigate an epidemiologic aociation between Fuch heterochromic iridocycliti (FHI) and the rubella vaccination program in the United tate. Deign Obervational cae erie. Method The percentage of patient with FHI, idiopathic chronic iridocycliti, and idiopathic chronic granulomatou iridocycliti at the Univerity of Illinoi were compared over time. Analyi of country of origin (United tate v foreign-born) wa alo performed. Finding were correlated with implementation of the rubella vaccination program in the United tate in 1969. Reult A total of 3,856 patient were een between 1985 and 2005. Percentage of patient with FHI and idiopathic chronic granulomatou iridocycliti born between 1919 and 1958 were imilar (FHI 3.51% to 5.19%; idiopathic chronic granulomatou iridocycliti 3.51% to 4.72%), with more variability in the idiopathic chronic iridocycliti group (6.63% to 11.32%). A 64.8% reduction in FHI ubject wa een for thoe born the following decade (1959 to 1968). An additional 39.7% drop in FHI occurred in patient born between 1969 and 1978. Only one patient with FHI wa born during the decade 1979 to 1988. The trend over time for FHI differed ignificantly from idiopathic chronic iridocycliti (P = .0007) and idiopathic chronic granulomatou iridocycliti (P = .0002), with no difference between the control (P = .5437). The percentage of foreign-born patient with FHI increaed after the intitution of the rubella vaccination program (42% to 55%) compared with thoe born in previou decade (24% to 25%). Thi wa not oberved in the control. Concluion FHI i le common in patient born ince the introduction of the U rubella vaccination program, with a correponding increae in percentage of foreign-born cae. Thi epidemiologic tudy upport a relationhip between the rubella viru and FHI.