Abstract
To evaluate the possible protective effect of breast milk against retinopathy of prematurity by comparing the amount of breast milk received by patients who developed retinopathy of prematurity and those who did not and to determine both the required minimum amount of breast milk and the time of life during which neonates need to receive breast milk for this effect to be significant. Cohort study of newborns with a birth weight of <1500 g or gestational age of <32 weeks, or both, born between January 2011 and October 2014 and hospitalized within the first 24 h of life in the Hospital Criança Conceição Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. The prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity of any degree was 31% (100 of 323 patients) and that of severe retinopathy of prematurity was of 9% (29 of 323 patients). The median amounts of breast milk received daily by patients with and without retinopathy of prematurity were 4.9 mL/kg (interquartile range, 0.3-15.4) and 10.2 mL/kg (1.5-25.5), respectively. The amount of breast milk received in the first 6 weeks of life was inversely associated with the incidence of both retinopathy of prematurity of any degree and severe retinopathy of prematurity in the univariate analyses. However, the statistical significance was maintained only during the sixth week of life in a per-period multivariate analysis controlling for confounding factors. Small amounts of breast milk are inadequate to prevent retinopathy of prematurity in premature newborns at risk for the disease.
Highlights
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vasoproliferative eye disease secondary to the incomplete vascularization of the retina in premature infants[1]
ABSTRACT | Purpose: To evaluate the possible protective effect of breast milk against retinopathy of prematurity by comparing the amount of breast milk received by patients who developed retinopathy of prematurity and those who did not and to determine both the required minimum amount of breast milk and the time of life during which neonates need to receive breast milk for this effect to be significant
The prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity of any degree was 31% (100 of 323 patients) and that of severe retinopathy of prematurity was of 9% (29 of 323 patients)
Summary
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vasoproliferative eye disease secondary to the incomplete vascularization of the retina in premature infants[1]. The prevalence of ROP has increased along with improvements in neonatal services in many countries. Because ROP can cause blindness[2], it results in social and financial burdens to society. Irreversibly impaired vision prevents suitable cognitive and psychomotor development in affected infants[3]. The etiology of ROP is multifactorial and remains to be fully elucidated. Factors involved in its pathogenesis include exposure of the developing retina to abnormal oxygen levels[4,5,6] and deficiencies in insulin-like growth fator-1 (IGF-1)(7). Human breast milk (BM) contains IGF-1(8) and may have a protective effect against the development of ROP
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