Foveal thickness and vascular variables in adolescents born moderate‐to‐late preterm

• Published in: Acta ophthalmologica (Oxford, England) England), 2024-11, Vol.102 (7), p.797-804
• Main Authors: Ovik, Titus, Lind, Alexandra, Popovic, Zoran, Dahlgren, Jovanna, Aring, Eva, Andersson Grönlund, Marita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Angiography; Children; Female; Fluorescein Angiography - methods; Follow-Up Studies; Fovea Centralis - blood supply; Fovea Centralis - diagnostic imaging; Foveal avascular zone; foveal thickness; Fundus Oculi; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Male; moderate-to-late preterm; Oftalmologi; Ophthalmology; optical coherence tomography angiography; Population studies; Prospective Studies; Retinal Ganglion Cells - pathology; Retinal Vessels - diagnostic imaging; Retinopathy; Retinopathy of Prematurity - diagnosis; Statistical analysis; Teenagers; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; vessel density; Visual Acuity
• ISSN: 1755-375X; 1755-3768; 1755-3768
• DOI: 10.1111/aos.16702

Purpose It is well established that children born very preterm are at increased risk for ocular abnormalities including altered foveal morphology. However, little is known about how children born moderate‐to‐late preterm (MLP), gestational age 32 + 0–36 + 6 weeks, are affected later in life. This study investigates foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, vascular density (VD), central foveal thickness (CFT) and ganglion cell layer thickness (GCL++) of adolescents born MLP without history of retinopathy of prematurity and compare the results with full‐term controls. Methods In a prospective population‐based cohort study, 50 adolescents (26 girls; mean age 16.5 years) born MLP were examined with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCT‐A). FAZ and VD were obtained from OCT‐A scans and adjusted for ocular magnification. CFT and GCL++ were obtained from the OCT scans. The results from the MLP individuals were compared with the results from 49 healthy full‐term controls (29 girls; mean age 16.7 years). Results The results showed statistically significant differences in FAZ area (0.22 vs 0.28 mm2; p = 0.0032) and CFT (198.1 vs 187.1 μm; p = 0.0010) between the MLP group and controls. Strong correlations between FAZ area and CFT (r = −0.773, p