Ocular vascular changes during pregnancy: an optical coherence tomography angiography study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Physiology

Background:

• Pregnancy involves significant physiological adaptations affecting various body systems.
• Ocular tissues, including the cornea, lacrimal, meibomian glands, and chorioretinal complex, undergo changes during pregnancy.
• Previous research has noted ocular changes, but retinal and optic disc vasculature in pregnancy requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate macular and optic disc vessel density (VD) changes using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) in pregnant individuals.
• To compare ocular VD between pregnant women and a healthy control group.
• To investigate potential correlations between VD and gestational stage.

Main Methods:

• Involved 124 pregnant women (248 eyes) and 40 healthy controls (80 eyes).
• Assessed macular VD for superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) in various regions (foveal, parafoveal, perifoveal).
• Evaluated peripapillary and whole optic disc VD, comparing groups and assessing trimester-specific variations.

Main Results:

• Observed significant differences in macular SCP and DCP vessel density in the pregnancy group.
• Found significantly higher perifoveal, parafoveal SCP, whole optic disc, and radial peripapillary capillary VD in pregnant women.
• No correlation was found between VD and weeks of gestation or trimester.

Conclusions:

• This is the first study to examine OCTA parameters in pregnant individuals.
• Physiological changes during pregnancy extend to retinal and optic disc vasculature, not just external ocular structures.
• Findings indicate pregnancy-induced vascular remodeling in the retina and optic nerve.