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Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Optimization of the Retinal Vein Occlusion Mouse Model to Limit Variability
Published on: August 6, 2021
Increasing Incidence of Retinal Vein Occlusion Among Young Adults Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
Shivesh H Shah1,2, Edward S Lu1,2, Ioanna Ploumi1,2
1Harvard Retinal Imaging Lab.
Background And Objective:
Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) incidence among adults under age 50 years before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was evaluated to clarify whether COVID-19 infection increases RVO risk.
Patients And Methods:
This was a retrospective study of adult patients under age 50 years diagnosed with RVO between 2016 and 2023.
Results:
The study included 268 patients with RVO. Cases increased from 111 (41%) pre-pandemic (2016 to 2019) to 157 (59%) post-pandemic (2020 to 2023). Incidence rose from 2.7% to 4.2% of retina clinic diagnoses (P = 0.006). Age at diagnosis did not differ (median 40.4 vs 39.6 years, P > 0.05). The youngest tertile (18 to 29 years) trended towards a greater proportion of cases post-pandemic (19.6% vs 10.6%, P = 0.20), while the oldest tertile (39 to 49 years) trended towards a smaller proportion (48.4% vs 56.1%, P = 0.42).
Conclusion:
An increase in RVO incidence during COVID-19 was observed, with a trend towards younger age groups.
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