Preterm Births at 19 Times Greater Risk for Retinal Detachment Later in Life

Children born prematurely face a 19 times greater risk of retinal detachment later in life than peers born at full term.

Researchers looked a a population-based, long-term investigation study of the association between preterm birth and later retinal detachment in order to determine that birth before 32 weeks can often be associated with an increased risk of retinal detachment in childhood, adolescence and young adult life.

In fact, the study's findings suggest the need for ophthalmologic follow-up with children and adults who are born at extremely premature stages, as it's estimated that in the Untied States alone, more than 500,000 premature babies are born each year.

The researchers looked at nationwide registries of more than three million births from 1973 to 2008 and identified subjects born prematurely who were then separated into two groups:  those born between 1973 and 1986, at which point a national retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening program was established, and those born between 1987 and 2008.

Background information from the study notes that ROP is a condition that causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina (back of the eye) and may cause retinal detachment and potentially blindness.

For those born less than 28 weeks of gestation during those time periods, researchers found that the risk of retinal detachment was 19 times higher than peers born at term. However, researchers found that moderately pre-term birth was not associated with this health issue.

"We may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg of late ophthalmic complications after preterm birth," Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, M.D., Ph.D., pediatrician at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the study's lead researcher said, via a press release. "Not only does the risk of retinal detachment increase with age, but there has also been an increase in survival among people born prematurely since the 1970s. This provides opportunities for future research to address if the increased risk persists among those born prematurely as they age."

Researchers firmly suggest that individuals who have been treated for ROP during the neonatal period continue follow up on a yearly basis.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Ophthalmology.