| Summary: | Background: The association between umbilical cord blood insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether umbilical cord blood IGF-1 levels can predict the development of severe ROP in extremely preterm infants. Methods: This hospital-based retrospective cohort study included infants born at <37 weeks gestational age (GA) between 2019 and 2021 and then classified them into the two GA groups: extremely preterm, <28 weeks and preterm infants, 28–36 weeks. Extremely preterm infants were further subclassified into two groups according to the laser treatment as follows: the severe ROP (ROP-Tx) and ROP (No ROP-Tx) groups. Median umbilical cord blood IGF-1 values were compared between the groups. Perinatal risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. Finally, umbilical cord IGF-1 cut-off values requiring ROP treatment with laser were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Results: A total of 205 infants were enrolled, with 32 being extremely preterm (ROP-Tx: n = 11; No ROP-Tx: n = 21) and 173 being preterm. IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in extremely preterm (13.5 ng/mL) than preterm infants (36 ng/mL, p < 0.001). In extremely preterm infants, IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in the ROP-Tx group than the No ROP-Tx group (10 vs. 19 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.024). Only GA, umbilical cord blood IGF-1 levels, birth head circumference, and birth chest circumference were identified as risk factors by univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that only umbilical cord blood IGF-1 was an independent risk factor (odds ratio: 1.26, p = 0.021). ROC curves revealed an IGF-1 cut-off value of 14 ng/mL. Conclusion: The need of laser treatment for ROP was found to be associated with low umbilical cord blood IGF-1 levels in extremely preterm infants. Umbilical cord blood IGF-1 can be used as a biomarker for the risk of developing severe ROP.
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