The Impact of Uveitis on Health-related Quality of Life in Adolescents

Data about psychodynamics in uveitis patients are scare. A negative impact of disease is described not only in adult patients with active, but also with quiescent disease. During adolescence even less is known about psychodynamics although this is an especially sensible and challenging stage of life. Given the assumption that juvenile patients with quiescent disease still could suffer from emotional distress, this would require special attention.

In this study the investigators evaluate the impact of juvenile uveitis on HRQoL and attempted to identify clinical and demographic factors contributing to an impaired health status. The investigators limit the study to patients with quiescent uveitis and good visual function in at least one eye to exclude additional negative stressors. As there are no validated uveitis-specific psychometric questionnaires evaluating QoL available yet, the investigators use age-appropriate generic instruments. This should allow obtaining an overview about the adolescents' general Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and whether psychological interventions should be offered to this sensitive patient group.