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Updated: Aug 7, 2025
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Published on: January 27, 2019
The relationship between probiotics and retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants: A population-based
Wen Hua Bai1, Dan Feng Gu1, Yun Dai1
1Department of Neonatology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, China.
Insights
Probiotic supplementation may reduce the risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in very preterm infants. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm this association and its clinical implications for infant eye health.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Ophthalmology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of blindness in premature infants.
- It is a retinal vascular disease affecting neonates with high incidence.
- Identifying preventative strategies for ROP is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between probiotic use and the occurrence of ROP.
- To analyze the impact of probiotics on ROP development in high-risk preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 443 preterm infants (<32 weeks gestation, <1500g birth weight).
- Clinical data collected from January 2019 to December 2021.
- Statistical analysis included chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney U, and logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Probiotic use was associated with significantly different clinical characteristics in preterm infants.
- Univariate and multivariate logistic regression indicated probiotics as a factor affecting ROP.
- Probiotics showed a reduced risk of ROP (OR 0.383 univariate, OR 0.575 multivariate).
Conclusions:
- Probiotic supplementation is linked to a decreased risk of ROP in preterm infants (<32 weeks gestation, <1500g birth weight).
- Further large-scale prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings.
- Probiotics may offer a potential preventative approach for ROP.
Background:
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinal vascular disease with a high incidence in premature infants and is a leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide. The purpose of our study was to analyze the association between the use of probiotics and retinopathy of prematurity.
Methods:
This study retrospectively collected clinical data of premature infants with gestational age <32 weeks and birth weight <1500 g admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 in Suzhou Municipal Hospital, China. Demographic and clinical data of the inclusion population were collected. The outcome was the occurrence of ROP. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables, while the t-test and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U rank-sum test were used for continuous variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between probiotics and ROP.
Results:
A total of 443 preterm infants met the inclusion criteria, of which 264 didn't receive probiotics and 179 were supplemented with probiotics. There were 121 newborns with ROP in the included population. The results of univariate analysis showed that the preterm infants with and without probiotics were significantly different in the gestational age, the birth weight, the one-minute Apgar score, the oxygen inhalation time, the acceptance rate of invasive mechanical ventilation, the prevalence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, ROP and severe intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia (P < 0.05). Unadjusted univariate logistic regression model result showed that probiotics (OR 0.383, 95% CI 0.240∼0.611) were the factors affecting ROP in preterm infants (P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression result (OR 0.575, 95% CI 0.333∼0.994) was consistent with univariate analysis (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
This study showed that probiotic was associated with a reduced risk of ROP in preterm infants with gestational age of <32 weeks and birth weight of <1500 g, but more large-scale prospective studies are still needed.
