Determinants of Eye Disorders in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Nigeria

Objectives: To investigate the determinants of eye disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Nigeria. Methods: This hospital-based study was conducted among patients with RA and SLE. Information was obtained on patients’ socio-demographics, type of rheumatic disease, disease duration, activity, and prescribed medications. RAPID 3 was used among both RA and SLE patients to measure and classify disease activity as: >12 = high; 6.1–12 = moderate; 3.1–6 = low; <3= remission. Each patient had detailed ocular examination. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The female:male ratio was 4.3:1 for RA and all SLE patients were females. Eye disorders were present in 42% of all patients, the most common being dry eyes (38%), refractive errors (18%), and cataracts (16%). The least findings were corneal opacities (2%) and lateral rectus palsy (2%). Mean duration of disease in years was significantly higher among RA patient that had eye disorders (7.23 ± 3.44) than those without (2.23 ± 1.23) (P < 0.001). It was also higher among SLE patients with eye disorders (6.73 ± 3.93) than those without (2.13 ± 1.06) (P < 0.001). Most RA patients with eye disorders had moderate [21 (28%)] to severe [8 (11%)] disease activity whereas majority of patients without eye disorders had low activity [16 (22%)] and near remission [26 (35%)] (P < 0.001). Most SLE patients with eye disorders had moderate [9 (35%)] to severe [1 (4%)] disease activity whereas majority of patients without eye disorders had low activity [3 (12%)] and near remission [12 (46%)]. Conclusion: Eye disorders are common among RA and SLE patients, and are influenced by longer disease duration, higher disease activity, and older age. Gender and drug therapy were not found to influence the presence of eye disorders. Eye examination should be done on all RA and SLE patients at regular intervals.