Multiple Ophthalmic Conditions May Be Caused by Preeclampsia

Large-scale US data suggest preeclampsia is associated with elevated long-term risks of retinal vascular disease such as hypertensive retinopathy (pictured) and other impairments. Photo: Anna Bedwell, OD. Click image to enlarge. Preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure that can progress into organ damage, nausea and vomiting, may contribute to ophthalmic complications, says a recent UK study. Specific complications included hypertensive retinopathy, vascular occlusions, papilledema and cortical visual impairment (CVI), with patients 35 years and up at a “further amplified” risk of CVI, according to the study.Patient information from 2004 to 2024 was obtained via the TriNetX medical database. Patients were pregnant women 18 years of age and older who developed preeclampsia over the course of their pregnancies, with a control group of similarly aged patients who did not have preeclampsia. Those over the age of 35 were included as a “secondary analysis,” stated the authors, “as this age determines geriatric pregnancies in which the risk of complications increases.” In total, there were 139,959 patients with preeclampsia and 1,935,751 without it.An analysis indicated that individuals “diagnosed with preeclampsia during pregnancy had approximately 90% increased risk of developing hypertensive retinopathy (hazard ratio: 1.925) and vascular occlusions (HR: 1.926) compared to those patients without preeclampsia,” with an additional “60% increased risk of developing papilledema (HR: 1.637) and a 45% increased risk of developing unspecified vascular retinopathy (HR: 1.425).” Perhaps most striking of the findings, there was “a fourfold increased risk for developing cortical visual impairment (HR: 4.036),” the researchers wrote. The commonality of CVI among this group was thought to be caused by posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, a neurological disorder.“The nearly doubled lifetime risk of hypertensive retinopathy and vascular occlusions suggests persistent vascular changes years after the initial preeclampsia diagnosis,” the researchers proposed in their paper, pointing to other studies that showed “permanent changes to the retinal microvasculature and cerebral white matter, including narrowing of arteriolar caliber, retinal pigment epitheliopathy and patches of choroidal atrophy, as well as an increased risk for retinal structure and vascular disease.”The authors concluded that preeclampsia is a significant contributor to ocular damage, noting that, on a larger scale, it “affects 3% to 8% of pregnancies worldwide.” As such, further research must be conducted to better understand this association and strategies to manage and prevent preeclampsia in pregnant women. Click here for the journal source. Jong S, Shakarchi F, Rickels K, et al. Preeclampsia and risk of ophthalmic complications: a large United States cohort study. Eye. February 18, 2026. [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.