Duration of Diabetes as a Significant Factor for Retinopathy

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the frequency and risk factors for severity of retinopathy in diabetic patients referred to a tertiary level military hospital.

Material and Methods: Diabetic patients referred for suspected diabetic retinopathy on fundoscopy from medical outpatient clinic of Military Hospital Rawalpindi were randomly included in the study. Retinopathy was assessed with slit lamp biomicroscope using fundus lens or indirect ophthalmoscope, and graded into absent, non-proliferative or proliferative retinopathy. ANOVA test was used to perform univariate analysis, and to evaluate the simultaneous effect of significant risk factors on the different stages of retinopathy, multivariate regression analysis was done.

Results: Out of four hundred and eighty patients, retinopathy was confirmed in 38% cases with advanced retinopathy in 16%. In univariate analysis, duration of diabetes, fasting blood glucose and glyscosylated haemoglobin test were significantly associated with retinopathy (P<0.005). On multivariate analysis, however, only duration of diabetes proved to be an independent risk factor for both type and progression of retinopathy (Odds Ratio 5.7 for 5 to 10 years and 32.3 for more than 10 years in cases of non-proliferative retinopathy).

Conclusion. The frequency of retinopathy observed was high with strong association to duration of diabetes. This emphasizes the need for regular screening of diabetic individuals to detect retinopathy in the early stages and increasing public awareness.