Association of Birth Weight with Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Adulthood—Results from a Population-Based Study

PURPOSE: Low birth weight is associated with altered retinal development in childhood, including reduced peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness. However, to the best of our knowledge, no population-based study has analyzed the relationship of low birth weight to pRNFL thickness in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether birth weight has a long-term effect on pRNFL thickness in adulthood. METHODS: In the German population-based Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), participants were examined with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using a peripapillary scan and automated measurement of pRNFL thickness as a global parameter and in six sectors. The association between self-reported birth weight and the different pRNFL sectors were analyzed with multivariable linear regression, adjusted for potential confounders including sex, age, axial length, self-reported age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. RESULTS: In 3,028 participants, self-reported birth weight was documented and pRNFL measurements were successfully performed (1632 females, ages 54.9 ± 10.0 years). After adjustment for several confounders in the multivariable model, a positive association was observed between birth weight and pRNFL thickness in the global sector (β = 0.13 µm/100 g; 95% CI, 0.08–0.18; P < 0.001; R(2) = 0.007) and especially in the inferotemporal sector (β = 0.22 µm/100 g; 95% CI, 0.15–0.29; P < 0.001; R(2) = 0.008) and inferonasal sector (β = 0.28 µm/100 g; 95% CI, 0.17–0.39; P < 0.001; R(2) = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that there is a weak relationship between birth weight and pRNFL thickness in adulthood. This weak association is particularly present in the inferior part of the optic nerve head. Therefore, low birth weight may have an impact on optic nerve head development and potentially on ocular disease development.