Epidemiology and treatment trends of retinopathy of prematurity: a multi-center study involving four Asian centers and one European center (2016-2023).

Authors

Yi-Hsuan Tseng, Tapas Ranjan Padhi, Souvik Bhunia, Sudarshan Seshasai, Andrew Shih-Hsiang Tsai, Gavin Siew-Wei Tan, Nirmal Kavalloor Visruthan, Connie Hong Yee Lai, Tin Yan Grace Hui, Rachel Sze-Wan Yiu, Susana Maria Pereira Teixeira, Tomas Reis da Costa, Pei-Liang Wu, Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang, Kuan-Jen Chen, Nan-Kai Wang, Yih-Shiou Hwang, Chi-Chun Lai, Wei-Chi Wu

Published in

Japanese journal of ophthalmology. Jul 03, 2026. Epub Jul 03, 2026.

Abstract

To investigate regional differences in the epidemiology and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) from 2016 to 2023.
Retrospective multicenter cohort study METHODS: Premature infants screened for ROP at a single tertiary referral center in each of five countries/regions (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and Portugal) during the study period. Demographic characteristics, incidences of ROP and type 1 ROP, and treatment modalities were analyzed. Screening criteria followed local protocols. Logistic regression was used to assess trends, and intergroup comparisons were performed using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests.
A total of 15,031 premature infants were enrolled. Demographics varied significantly (p <0.001); India had the highest gestational age and birth weight, and the lowest proportion of very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight infants with type 1 ROP (p <0.001). Hong Kong had the lowest ROP incidence, while Singapore showed a significant increase over time (p = 0.003). Type 1 ROP rates were higher in Taiwan and India than in Hong Kong and Singapore, with a significant decline observed only in Taiwan (p = 0.005). Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (Anti-VEGF) injections were increasingly preferred as initial treatment, with bevacizumab being the most frequently used (87.3%).
From 2016 to 2023, ROP incidence and treatment showed significant regional differences. ROP increased in Singapore, while type 1 ROP decreased significantly in Taiwan. Although anti-VEGF therapy has become more common, laser treatment remains dominant in Hong Kong.

PMID:
42397665
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.