MONDAY, Dec. 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)-related visual loss remained stable between 1990 and 2021, with most cases occurring in low and low-middle sociodemographic index (SDI) countries, according to a study published online Dec. 26 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Emily S. Wong, M.B.Ch.B., from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues examined global trends in ROP-related visual impairment from 1990 to 2021 and identified risk factors for increased prevalence of visual loss in a cross-sectional study using the Global Burden of Disease 2021 dataset for 204 countries.
The researchers found that between 1990 and 2021, 8.79 million cases of ROP-related visual loss were documented; during this time, the number of cases globally remained stable. The majority of ROP-related visual loss cases in 2021 were accounted for by countries with a low SDI (536,899 cases) and low-middle SDI (802,078 cases). There was a sharp decline seen in prevalence since the 2000s, while ROP-related blindness prevalence remained disproportionately high in low and low-middle SDI countries. A shifting burden of ROP-related visual impairment was seen, with high-middle SDI countries experiencing an increasing prevalence rate in all grade ROP-related visual loss. Associations were seen for a lower primary completion rate, higher out-of-pocket health care expense, lower social insurance coverage, lower prenatal screening coverage, and nursing staff density with higher visual loss prevalence (estimates, −2.33, 2.61, −2.79, −3.91, and −2.07 cases, respectively, per 100,000 people).
"Addressing socioeconomic disparities, expanding neonatal care access, and implementing universal ROP screening programs will be crucial in mitigating the future burden of ROP-related blindness," the authors write.