Department of Ophthalmology, Nowon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University, Seoul, Korea.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 May 10;103(19):e38080. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038080.
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a major treatable cause of childhood blindness. Thus, epidemiological investigations are necessary for detecting and preventing ROP. Determining risk factors for ROP are also essential to improve screening methods. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of ROP in Korea. The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) covers almost all Koreans. Furthermore, the National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children (NHSPIC) is a government-run, health-screening program for children aged < 6 years. We used the NHIS-Infants and Children's Health Screening cohort database to evaluate the incidence of preterm infants and ROP. The database contains data on 84,005 participants, drawn from 5% of the NHSPIC survey on participants born annually during 2008 to 2012. Sociodemographic factors and systemic diseases were assessed as potential risk factors for ROP. We identified 2615 premature infants (3.11%); 846 of them had ROP (cumulative incidence: 32.4%). Although preterm births increased annually in 2008 to 2012, the ROP incidence in preterm infants did not increase by the birth year. Twenty patients (2.4%) with ROP underwent laser photocoagulation or surgery. Extremely low birth weight was a high risk factor (odds ratio [OR] = 49.86, P < .001). Moreover, chorioamnionitis (OR = 2.77, P = .028), respiratory distress syndrome (OR = 4.09, P < .001), apnea (OR = 1.59, P = .008), anemia (OR = 2.41, P < .001), and intraventricular hemorrhage (OR = 2.34, P < .001) were found to be risk factors for ROP. In conclusion, the incidence of premature babies increased between 2008 and 2012. However, the overall incidence of ROP among premature infants remained unchanged by birth year. Our findings revealed the roles of birth weight, respiratory conditions, anemia, and intraventricular hemorrhage in ROP.
早产儿视网膜病变（ROP）是儿童失明的一个主要可治疗病因。因此，开展流行病学调查对于发现ROP 并进行预防至关重要。确定ROP 的危险因素对于改进筛查方法也很重要。因此，我们旨在调查韩国 ROP 的发病情况和危险因素。
国家健康保险服务（NHIS）覆盖了几乎所有的韩国人。此外，国家婴幼儿健康筛查计划（NHSPIC）是一个由政府运营的儿童健康筛查计划，对象为年龄小于 6 岁的儿童。我们使用 NHIS-婴幼儿健康筛查队列数据库来评估早产儿和 ROP 的发病情况。该数据库包含了来自 2008 年至 2012 年期间每年出生的 5%的 NHSPIC 参与者调查数据，共涉及 84005 名参与者。社会人口因素和系统性疾病被评估为 ROP 的潜在危险因素。
我们共发现 2615 名早产儿（3.11%）；其中 846 名患有 ROP（累积发病率：32.4%）。虽然 2008 年至 2012 年期间早产儿的出生数量逐年增加，但早产儿 ROP 的发病率并未随着出生年份的增加而增加。20 名 ROP 患儿（2.4%）接受了激光光凝或手术治疗。极低出生体重是一个高危因素（比值比[OR] = 49.86，P <.001）。此外，绒毛膜羊膜炎（OR = 2.77，P =.028）、呼吸窘迫综合征（OR = 4.09，P <.001）、呼吸暂停（OR = 1.59，P =.008）、贫血（OR = 2.41，P <.001）和脑室内出血（OR = 2.34，P <.001）被认为是 ROP 的危险因素。
总之，2008 年至 2012 年期间，早产儿的数量有所增加。然而，早产儿 ROP 的总体发病率并未因出生年份的不同而发生变化。我们的研究结果揭示了出生体重、呼吸状况、贫血和脑室内出血在 ROP 发病机制中的作用。
