HLA-B51 Carriers are Susceptible to Ocular Symptoms of Behçet Disease and the Association between the Two Becomes Stronger towards the East along the Silk Road: A Literature Survey.

PURPOSE: Behçet disease (BD) is predominantly found between East Asia and the Mediterranean basin along the historic Silk Road. HLA-B51 is known to be strongly associated with BD. We investigated the association between HLA-B51 and the ocular manifestations of BD among various ethnic groups.

METHODS: A literature survey was conducted, and 18 articles written in English were reviewed.

RESULTS: A strong correlation was found between HLA-B51 and ocular lesions in the entire cohort discussed in the reviewed articles (OR = 1.76, p = 0.000057). HLA-B51 was shown to have a strong association with ocular manifestations of BD patients in East-Eurasian (OR = 2.40, p = 0.0030) and Middle-Eurasian (OR = 1.87, p = 0.0045), but not in West-Eurasian (OR = 1.28, p = 0.35) areas. This correlation seemed to become stronger towards the east.

CONCLUSIONS: A meta-analysis showed that the correlation became stronger towards the east along the Silk Road. The study results may facilitate understanding of the etiology and characteristics of BD.