Increasing Incidence of Retinal Vein Occlusion Among Young Adults Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) incidence among adults under age 50 years before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was evaluated to clarify whether COVID-19 infection increases RVO risk.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of adult patients under age 50 years diagnosed with RVO between 2016 and 2023.

RESULTS

The study included 268 patients with RVO. Cases increased from 111 (41%) pre-pandemic (2016 to 2019) to 157 (59%) post-pandemic (2020 to 2023). Incidence rose from 2.7% to 4.2% of retina clinic diagnoses (P = 0.006). Age at diagnosis did not differ (median 40.4 vs 39.6 years, P > 0.05). The youngest tertile (18 to 29 years) trended towards a greater proportion of cases post-pandemic (19.6% vs 10.6%, P = 0.20), while the oldest tertile (39 to 49 years) trended towards a smaller proportion (48.4% vs 56.1%, P = 0.42).

CONCLUSION

An increase in RVO incidence during COVID-19 was observed, with a trend towards younger age groups.