A Narrative Review of the Complex Relationship between Pregnancy and Eye Changes.

Nicoleta Anton,Roxana-Elena Ciuntu,Bogdan Doroftei,Camelia Margareta Bogdănici,Ionela Nechita-Dumitriu,Ovidiu-Dumitru Ilie

doi:10.3390/diagnostics11081329

Abstract

Pregnancy is a condition often characterized by changes that occur in different parts of the body. Generally, the eyes suffer several changes during pregnancy that are usually transient but may become permanent at times. This may occur due to the release of placental hormones and those of maternal endocrine glands and fetal adrenal glands. Due to hormonal influences, physiological ocular changes during pregnancy have been shown in Caucasian women, so corneal sensitivity, refractive status, intraocular pressure, and visual acuity may change during pregnancy. Within this review, all studies that referred to physiological aspects and to changes of ocular pathology of pregnancy, the effect of the pregnancy on pre-existing (diabetic retinopathy, neuro-ophthalmic disorders) eye disorders, postpartum ocular changes, the intraocular pressure and the effect of hypotensive ophthalmic medicine during pregnancy, the connection between pregnancy and the neuro-ophthalmic pathology, as well as the role of anesthesia were analyzed.

Highlights

Pregnancy is a complex physiological process that affects all organic systems
The frequency of glaucoma during pregnancy seems to increase among women
The authors did not find any difference between the central corneal thickness in pregnant women compared to the control group and between the CH and CRF values in the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA)

Summary

Introduction

Pregnancy is a complex physiological process that affects all organic systems. Eye changes during pregnancy can be physiological or pathological. Physiological changes can involve any of the body’s organs, including the eye and visual system [1,2,3]. The effect of pregnancy on the eyeball involves a broad spectrum of physiological and pathological changes [1,2,3]. Refractive status, intraocular pressure, and visual acuity may change during pregnancy [4,5,6]. Pathological changes are divided as follows: eye changes that occur for the first time during pregnancy (keratoconus, dry eye syndrome, etc.), pre-existing ocular pathologies but modified by pregnancy (glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, neuro-ophthalmic pathology), and ocular manifestations of systemic diseases (pregnancyspecific diseases: preeclampsia/eclampsia/Sheehan’s syndrome) or diseases that occur more frequently during pregnancy: idiopathic intracranial hypertension and disseminated intravascular coagulation [3]

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Results

Conclusion