Abstract
Purpose:
To investigate the influence of preterm birth on the optic disc and retinal vessels by measurements of cup-to-disc (C/D) ratio and arteriole-to-venule (A/V) ratio.
Methods:
Eighty-three eyes of 42 preterm birth were included in this study. In the age and sex-matched control group, 83 eyes of 42 full-term birth were used. Fundus color photographs were taken. ImageJ software was used to calculate C/D and A/V ratios from the fundus images.
Results:
Fundus photographs were taken at an age of 8.01 ± 2.22 years for the preterm group and 8.01 ± 2.13 years for the control group. The mean gestational age of the preterm group was 27.57 weeks (range, 24 to 34 weeks). The preterm group had significantly larger C/D ratios and smaller A/V ratios (mean ± standard deviation; 0.46 ± 0.12 and 0.71 ± 0.09, respectively) than the control group (mean ± standard deviation; 0.36 ± 0.07 and 0.82 ± 0.08, respectively) (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) after age, sex and spherical equivalent refractive error were adjusted.
Conclusions:
Preterm birth is significantly associated with larger C/D ratio and smaller A/V ratio. These findings show the effect of preterm birth on the development of optic disc and retinal vessel development.
Keywords: 550 imaging/image analysis: clinical