A prospective BabySTEPS cohort study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found that greater retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age (PMA) was associated with better 2-year motor and cognitive outcomes in very preterm infants.
RNFL thickness added predictive value beyond standard neonatal covariates, increasing explained variance for Bayley-III motor scores from 0.36 to 0.53.
Choroidal thickness also showed association with motor outcome, but its incremental predictive value was weaker than that of RNFL thickness.
The study strengthens the concept that the preterm retina is a noninvasive biomarker of central nervous system development, while also underscoring the need for multicenter validation and standardization of neonatal OCT metrics.
