Shulman JP et al. – This study evaluated the association of maternal preeclampsia and the risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in an unrestricted birth cohort and a restricted subcohort of preterm, very low birth weight (P-VLBW) infants. The authors reported that preeclampsia was associated with an increased risk of developing ROP among an unrestricted cohort but a reduced risk among P-VLBW infants.

Methods

• A total of 290,992 live births from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2010, were retrospectively reviewed.

Results

• The mean (SD) gestational age was 38.38 (1.87) weeks in the full cohort and 26.87 (2.40) weeks in the P-VLBW cohort.
• Preeclampsia was associated with an increased risk of all ROP (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.46; P<.001), severe ROP (aOR, 5.21; P<.001), infant death (aOR, 1.66; P = .006), and giving birth to a P-VLBW infant (aOR, 7.74; P<.001) in the full cohort study.
• Preeclampsia was inversely associated with the development of all ROP (aOR, 0.79; P = .003), severe ROP (aOR, 0.62; P = .08), and infant death (aOR, 0.19; P<.001) in the P-VLBW subcohort.