OBJECTIVES: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vision-threatening disease associated with abnormal retinal vascular development that occurs only in preterm infants born before 31 weeks of gestation and/or with low birth weight of below 1500 g. The aim of this study was to collect data and describe the prevalence and incidence of ROP in the European region.

METHODS: A targeted literature search was performed for studies published in English from database inception to January 2019 in Embase, MEDLINE, MEDLINE-In Process, and Cochrane library. Studies reporting epidemiology of any ROP or severe ROP were included.

RESULTS: The review identified 25 European studies from 40 publications. The literature findings for Europe indicated that the incidence rates for any stage of ROP for infants with low birth weight (≤1500 g) and/or low gestational age (23 to 31 weeks) varied between 9% in Switzerland to 73% in Sweden. In addition, depending on the country, study design, and methodology, the incidence rates for severe or ≥ stage 3 ROP varied between 2% to 35% in Switzerland and Sweden, respectively. Data on the prevalence of ROP-related visual impairment were often inconsistent and varied based on different factors like the preterm births rate, preterm infants’ survival rate, quality of the neonatal care services, availability of timely screening and treatment of at-risk infants to name the key ones. In recent years, few studies reported an increase of ROP incidence rates in the UK and Nordics. Additionally, some of the data suggested that, there is an inverse relationship between the incidence and severity of ROP and the infants’ birth weight or gestational age.

CONCLUSIONS: There is conflicting evidence on the prevalence and incidence of ROP in Europe. As this is a vulnerable population, more understanding is needed to ensure appropriate treatment to limit the long-term negative impact of ROP.