Determinants of progression of diabetic retinopathy in pregnancy

To assess the rate of diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression in an Australian cohort and to identify the determinants of DR progression in pregnancy.

A total of 367 pregnancies of women with Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus attending King Edward Memorial Hospital, Western Australia, between June 2020 and July 2023 were included. These women were screened for the presence and severity of DR in the first trimester and/or at 28-32 weeks gestation via retinal imaging with a DRS camera.

DR was seen in 121 (33 %) pregnancies at baseline and DR progression was seen in 62 (17 %) pregnancies. Only 11 (4 %) women with no baseline DR developed DR and none of these progressed to more than moderate non-proliferative DR. A total of 51 (42 %) women with baseline DR had DR progression. The presence of baseline DR was the only significant predictor for DR progression on multivariate analysis (OR 9.88 (4.43-22.07), p < 0.001).

Women without DR at baseline are unlikely to progress to more severe forms of DR and usually do not require treatment. The presence of DR at baseline screening during pregnancy is a strong predictor of DR progression during pregnancy.