Pregnancy, myopic shift linked

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Myopia worsens during pregnancy, although the causes of the change are still uncertain, according to one physician.

Louis Pizzarello, MD, of Columbia University, performed a study to assess vision changes during pregnancy. He asked 240 pregnant women patients if they had any alteration in vision. Eighty-three women agreed to take part in the study, and of those, 12 complained of vision changes. Those 12 were matched with the next patient seen who was asymptomatic.

All the patients underwent complete ophthalmic examinations, and those who had alterations in vision were tested again after giving birth. The main outcome measures were visual acuity and refractive error changes during pregnancy.

All the women who complained of visual changes were found to have experienced a myopic shift of almost 1 D from pre-pregnancy levels. The mean change in refraction in the right eye was –0.87 D and in the left eye –0.98 D.

After giving birth, the patients’ myopia returned to prepregnancy levels.

The study is published in Graefe’s Archive of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.