Maternal smoking as an independent risk factor for the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity in very preterm infants

Background/objectives Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a severe neonatal complication potentially leading to visual impairment and blindness. Known risk factors include preterm birth, low birth weight and respiratory support. Limited and contradictory data exist on the risk of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the development of ROP. This study aims to investigate smoking as an independent risk factor for the development of severe ROP (≥stage 3). Subjects/methods This is a single centre retrospective case-control study of prospectively collected clinical data of infants born before 32 weeks of gestation between 2001 and 2012 at a tertiary care university hospital. The association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the development of severe ROP was analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. Results In total, n = 751 infants born < 32 weeks of gestation were included in this study. In total, 52.9% ( n = 397) were diagnosed with ROP and 10.8% ( n = 81) developed ROP ≥ stage 3. In total, 8.4% ( n = 63) mothers presented with a history of smoking during pregnancy, which was associated to a higher rate of ROP (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.10–6.12). Low gestational age, low birth weight and prolonged respiratory support were confirmed as independent risk factors for the development of severe ROP. Conclusions To date, this is the largest study evaluating the effect of maternal smoking on the development of ROP. Maternal smoking during pregnancy is identified as an independent risk factor for the development of severe ROP in preterm infants born < 32 weeks of gestation.