Relationship between age at onset and clinical characteristics of Behçet’s disease

Introduction: This study compares the clinical characteristics and treatment modalities of Behçet’s disease patients by age of onset at the Dr. Tidjani Damerdji University Hospital Center in Tlemcen, Algeria. Methods: Data from patients treated for Behçet’s disease between January 1990 and December 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients that fulfilled the diagnostic criteria laid down by the International Study Group for Behçet’s Disease were included in the study. Patients with early-onset disease (= 30 years) were compared to those with late-onset disease (> 30 years). Results: Among the 77 patients whose data were collected for the study, 80.5% were male and the mean age at onset was 27.2 ± 7 years. Approximately 60% of the patients had early-onset disease, and those patients exhibited more frequent intermediate uveitis (52.9% vs. 22.7%, p = 0.03), posterior uveitis (54.3% vs. 23.8%, p = 0.03), and panuveitis (45.7% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.01) compared to those with late-onset disease. Azathioprine (57.5% vs. 26.9%, p = 0.01) and biological therapy (15% vs. 0%, p = 0.03) were used more frequently in the early-onset group. Conclusions: Early-onset Behçet’s disease was associated with more frequent and more severe ocular features. Furthermore, azathioprine and biological therapy were more often used in that group of patients.