Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40669927›Full record

ArticleBMJ open ophthalmology2025

Impact of anti-VEGF treatment for diabetic macular oedema on progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy: data-driven insights from a multicentre study.

Abraham Olvera-Barrios, Watjana Lilaonitkul, Tjebo F C Heeren, Assaf Rozenberg, Darren Thomas, Alasdair Warwick, Taha Soomro, Abdulrahman Alsaedi, Roy Schwartz, Usha Chakravarthy and 8 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open ophthalmology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. [Pathological characteristics of pigmented pretibial patches and vascular-immune abnormalities in diabetic patients].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Abraham Olvera-BarriosMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3305-4465
Watjana LilaonitkulUniversity College London Global Business School for Health, London, UK.
Tjebo F C HeerenMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5297-2301
Assaf RozenbergMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0339-5063
Darren ThomasUniversity College London Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.
Alasdair WarwickUniversity College London Institute of Cardiovascular Science, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0800-2890
Taha SoomroMoorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Abdulrahman AlsaediOphthalmology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7551-7288
Roy SchwartzMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Usha ChakravarthyCentre for Vision and Vascular Science, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2606-3734
Haralabos EleftheriadisOphthalmology, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Faruque GhanchiOphthalmology, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford, UK.
Ashish PatwardhanRoyal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Cornwall, UK.
Paul TaylorUniversity College London Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6296-2948
Adnan TufailMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Catherine A EganMedical Retina, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK cathy.egan@nhs.net.
UK DR EHR Users group
UK DR EMR Users group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo report insights on proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) risk modification with repeated antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections for the treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DMO) in routine care. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Multicentre study (27 UK-National Health Service centres) of patients with non-PDR (NPDR) and DMO. Primary outcome was PDR development. Repeated anti-VEGF injections were modelled as time-dependent covariates using Cox regression and weighted cumulative exposure (WCE) adjusting for baseline diabetic retinopathy (DR) grade, age, sex, ethnicity, type of diabetes and deprivation. PDR incidence rates (IRs) were calculated.

resultsWe included 2858 DMO anti-VEGF-treated eyes. Anti-VEGF injections showed a protective effect on PDR risk during the most recent 4 weeks from exposure, which rapidly decreased. Mild-NPDR had a lower PDR risk compared with moderate-NPDR (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.51, p=0.015) and severe-NPDR (HR 4.63, 95% CI 2.55 to 8.41, p<0.001). Patients with type 1 diabetes showed an increased PDR risk when compared with patients with type 2 diabetes (HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.35 to 3.21, p<0.001). And every 5-year increase in age showed a 9% reduction in PDR hazards (p=0.002). The PDR cumulative IR was 4.45 (95% CI 3.89 to 5.09) per 100 person-years.

conclusionsThe WCE method is a valuable modelling strategy for repeated exposures in ophthalmology. Injections are protective against PDR predominantly within the most recent 4 weeks. Based on observed data, we show that age and baseline DR severity are relevant predictors of poor outcomes in patients with DMO treated with anti-VEGF.

Indexed as

Angiogenesis InhibitorsBevacizumabDiabetic RetinopathyMacular EdemaRanibizumabVascular Endothelial Growth Factor AVisual AcuityAgedDisease ProgressionFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansIncidenceIntravitreal InjectionsMaleMiddle AgedAngiogenesis InhibitorsBevacizumabRanibizumabVascular Endothelial Growth Factor AVEGFA protein, humanEpidemiologyMaculaRetinaTreatment MedicalVision

Identifiers

PMID40669927
PMCPMC12273153

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.