Association of Birth Weight With Foveolar Thickness in Adulthood: Results From a Population-Based Study

Pfisterer

Gißler

et al. 2022

Retina

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mentioning

confidence: 94%

Retinal Thickness and Foveal Hypoplasia in Adults Born Preterm With and Without Retinopathy of Prematurity

Pfisterer

Gißler

et al. 2022

Retina

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“…In congruence, a population-based report analyzing adolescents showed an association between lower birth weight as a proxy for prematurity and steeper corneal curvature [ 27 ]. Recent reports indicate that these alterations persist throughout life, as results from the Gutenberg Health Study showed that low birth weight (<2500 g) was associated with a steeper corneal radius, smaller corneal diameter [ 6 ], and altered posterior pole [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Furthermore, other studies reported a less regular corneal surface in subjects born preterm with low birth weight, as indicated by increased corneal aberrations in childhood and adulthood [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent reports indicate that these alterations persist throughout life, as results from the Gutenberg Health Study showed that low birth weight (<2500 g) was associated with a steeper corneal radius, smaller corneal diameter [ 6 ], and altered posterior pole [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Furthermore, other studies reported a less regular corneal surface in subjects born preterm with low birth weight, as indicated by increased corneal aberrations in childhood and adulthood [ 9 , 10 ]. The present results indicate that prematurity affects not only ocular geometry but also other ocular surface properties such as tear film quantity and stability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several reports observed that ROP is an additional parameter affecting corneal shape in children [ 1 ]. Additionally, the corneal surface is less regular as indicated by increased corneal aberrations measured in preterm children [ 9 ] and adults [ 10 ]. This is of particular importance because every year about 15 million newborns are born preterm globally and the prevalence of ROP has still been increasing for several decades worldwide [ 7 , 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dry Eye Parameters and Lid Geometry in Adults Born Extremely, Very, and Moderately Preterm with and without ROP: Results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Eye Study

Hufschmidt-Merizian

Gißler

et al. 2022

JCM

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Background/Aims: This study aimed to analyze the effects of perinatal history on tear film properties and lid geometry in adults born preterm. Methods: The Gutenberg Prematurity Eye Study (GPES) is a German prospective examination of adults born preterm and term aged 18 to 52 years with Keratograph® 5M and Schirmer test I. Main outcome measures were first non-invasive tear film break-up time (F-NITBUT), bulbar redness (BR), Schirmer test, and nasal palpebral angle measurement. The associations with gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), and BW percentile, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), ROP treatment, and other perinatal factors were evaluated using regression analyses. Results: 489 eyes of 255 preterm and 277 eyes of 139 full-term individuals (aged 28.6 +/− 8.8 years, 220 females) were included. Of these, 33 participants (56 eyes) had a history of spontaneously regressed ROP and 9 participants (16 eyes) had a history of ROP treatment. After adjustment for age and sex, lower F-NITBUT (<20 s) was associated with ROP treatment (OR = 4.42; p = 0.025). Lower GA correlated with increased bulbar redness (B = −0.02; p = 0.011) and increased length of wetting in the Schirmer test (B = −0.69; p = 0.003). Furthermore, low GA was associated with narrowing of the nasal palpebral angle (B = 0.22; p = 0.011) adjusted for age and sex, but not when considering ROP in the multivariable model. Conclusion: Our analyses indicate that perinatal history affects ocular surface properties, tear production and lid geometry in adults born term and preterm. This might indicate that affected persons have a predisposition to diseases of the corneal surface such as the dry eye disease.

“…Prematurity and fetal growth restriction affect ocular geometry in children, 1 – 3 adolescents, 4 and adults. 5 – 9 Altered choroidal development has been reported in individuals born preterm and those with restricted fetal growth. 10 , 11 Functions of the choroid include oxygen supply and nutrition of the outer retina, as well as regulation of eye growth, thus choroid alterations may result in lower visual functionality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foveal and Peripapillary Choroidal Thickness in Adults Born Extremely, Very, and Moderately Preterm With and Without ROP–Results From the Gutenberg Prematurity Eye Study

Schulze

Grabitz

et al. 2022

Trans. Vis. Sci. Tech.

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Purpose The present study investigated the long-lasting effect of prematurity, prenatal growth restriction, and associated factors on foveal and peripapillary choroidal thickness in adulthood. Methods The Gutenberg Prematurity Eye Study (GPES) is a retrospective cohort study with a prospective ophthalmologic examination in Germany. Foveal and peripapillary choroidal thicknesses were measured at different sectors using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to determine associations among gestational age, birth weight percentile, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) occurrence and treatment, and other perinatal factors, such as maternal smoking and others with foveal and global peripapillary choroidal thickness. Results A total of 735 eyes of 408 study participants were included (age = 28.4 ± 8.6 years, 229 women). Multivariable regression analyses revealed that foveal choroidal thinning was associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy (B = −38.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −65.5 to −10.7, P = 0.006), whereas other perinatal factors revealed no association. Global peripapillary choroidal thinning showed a trend to a lower birth weight percentile (B = 0.22, 95% CI = −0.01 to 0.45, P = 0.057). No correlation was observed between foveal and peripapillary choroidal thicknesses with visual acuity. Conclusions This study indicates that maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy has adverse long-lasting effects on choroidal development in the fovea and low birth weight percentile as a surrogate marker for adverse perinatal growth might be linked with peripapillary choroidal thinning whereas prematurity showed no long-term effects. Translational Relevance Altered choroidal layer development caused by perinatal influence factors might be a risk factor for reduced visual function and predispose affected individuals to eye diseases in later life.