Retinopathy of prematurity as a clinical marker of developmental vulnerability in preschool children: A nationwide Korean Health Screening study
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2Department of Pediatrics, Konkuk University Medical Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 3Department of Ophthalmology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 4Research Institute of Medical Science, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Purpose: To determine the Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and its association with developmental delay in Korean preschool children. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service and National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children (NHSPIC). The study included 808,536 children born 2014–2018 who completed the 7th NHSPIC screening at 54–60 months. Development assessed by the Korean Developmental Screening Test (K-DST) in six domains (self-care, cognition, language, fine motor, gross motor, and sociality. Subnormal visual acuity (VA) was defined as <0.6 (or 0.63) in either eye. Multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for developmental delay. Results: Of 808,536 children, 7,428 (0.92%) had a history of ROP. Children with ROP had lower birth weight and gestational age and higher frequencies of maternal complications and subnormal presenting VA. After adjustment for available maternal and child covariates, ROP was associated with higher odds of developmental delay across several domains, with adjusted ORs ranging from 1.35 for cognition (95% CI: 1.00–1.81) to 1.56 for gross motor development (95% CI: 1.18–2.07). In analyses stratified by ROP and presenting VA status, children. Conclusions: Children with a history of ROP showed higher odds of developmental delay at 54–60 months, especially when subnormal presenting visual acuity was also present. ROP may serve as a clinically useful marker of prematurity-related developmental vulnerability, supporting integrated ophthalmic and developmental surveillance before school entry.
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BibTeX
@article{kim2026retinopathy,
title = {{Retinopathy of prematurity as a clinical marker of developmental vulnerability in preschool children: A nationwide Korean Health Screening study}},
author = {Tae-Eun Kim and Hye Won Park and Sanghyun Park and Hyun Jin Shin},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0356773},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356773},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Retinopathy of prematurity as a clinical marker of developmental vulnerability in preschool children: A nationwide Korean Health Screening study
AU - Tae-Eun Kim
AU - Hye Won Park
AU - Sanghyun Park
AU - Hyun Jin Shin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0356773
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356773
AB - Purpose: To determine the Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and its association with developmental delay in Korean preschool children. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service and National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children (NHSPIC). The study included 808,536 children born 2014–2018 who completed the 7th NHSPIC screening at 54–60 months. Development assessed by the Korean Developmental Screening Test (K-DST) in six domains (self-care, cognition, language, fine motor, gross motor, and sociality. Subnormal visual acuity (VA) was defined as <0.6 (or 0.63) in either eye. Multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for developmental delay. Results: Of 808,536 children, 7,428 (0.92%) had a history of ROP. Children with ROP had lower birth weight and gestational age and higher frequencies of maternal complications and subnormal presenting VA. After adjustment for available maternal and child covariates, ROP was associated with higher odds of developmental delay across several domains, with adjusted ORs ranging from 1.35 for cognition (95% CI: 1.00–1.81) to 1.56 for gross motor development (95% CI: 1.18–2.07). In analyses stratified by ROP and presenting VA status, children. Conclusions: Children with a history of ROP showed higher odds of developmental delay at 54–60 months, especially when subnormal presenting visual acuity was also present. ROP may serve as a clinically useful marker of prematurity-related developmental vulnerability, supporting integrated ophthalmic and developmental surveillance before school entry.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -