Association of Low Serum Vitamin D Levels with Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy after Rhegmatogenous Retinal...

To evaluate whether low serum vitamin D level is a risk factor for proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) after primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair.

Retrospective, multisite, case-control study.

Subjects undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), scleral buckle (SB), or combined PPV/SB for primary RRD in the Veterans Administration Healthcare System between January 1, 2015, and January 1, 2020. Subjects were required to have a serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D measurement within 1 year of RRD surgery and to have greater than 90 days' follow-up after surgery.

Clinic notes and operative reports were reviewed to collect the following data points: sex, race, age, geographic location, date of diagnosis, eye laterality, macula and lens status, symptom duration, date and type of surgery, number and location of retinal tears, extent of RRD, presence of vitreous hemorrhage or choroidal detachment, date and level of vitamin D laboratory draw, development of PVR, and need for additional surgeries.

Incidence of PVR after surgical RRD repair comparing the normal and low vitamin D groups.

A total of 313 subjects met inclusion criteria, of whom 119 (38.0%) had serum vitamin D levels below the laboratory normal limit. Most subjects were male (96.4%) and White (82.4%). Among all subjects, 42 (13.4%) were diagnosed with PVR after initial surgical repair. On univariate analysis, subjects with low vitamin D levels were almost 4 times more likely to develop PVR than those with normal vitamin D levels (odds ratio [OR], 3.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.98-7.87; P < 0.001). This association of vitamin D level and PVR remained significant in multivariable analysis (OR, 4.27; 95% CI, 2.09-8.69; P < 0.001) and when only considering subjects with a vitamin D laboratory draw before or within 90 days of RRD diagnosis. When evaluating vitamin D level as a continuous variable, each 1 ng/mL decrease in serum vitamin D below the laboratory specified lower limit of normal resulted in a 4% increase in the risk of PVR development (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08; P = 0.002).

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report an association between low serum vitamin D levels and an increased risk of PVR development after RRD repair. Future studies with more diverse patient populations are required to verify this potential association.

The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.