title: Retinopathy of prematurity and neurodevelopmental disabilities in premature infants.
abstract: Prematurity is a major global health issue leading to high mortality and morbidity among the survivors. Neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are the most common complications of prematurity. In fact, ROP is the second leading cause of childhood blindness in the world. Although there is much information regarding the occurrence of ROP and of NDD in premature infants, there have been few studies on ROP and its association with NDD. The objectives of this article are to review the current literature on the subject and to publish our own findings concerning the association between ROP and NDD in premature infants. The review suggests that although NDDs are related to degree of prematurity, NDD could also be the result of visual impairments resulting from ROP. Our own study shows a close association between NDD and zonal involvement of ROP: higher NDD if zone 1 is involved and less if zone 3 is involved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Center for Global Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: beligeren@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Nagamani
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beligere
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Ophthalmology, Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Vijayalaksmi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perumalswamy
authors.affiliation: Vitrio Retinal Surgery, Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tandon
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Ophthalmology, Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmic Therapy, Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Jayasheele
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Floora
authors.affiliation: Bio-Statistics, Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vijayakumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Eye and Ear Infirmary, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Neurodevelopmental disability; Premature infants; Retinopathy of prematurity