Association of serum homocysteine with type II diabetic retinopathy.

Abstract

Objective: To elucidate the association of serum homocysteine with diabetic retinopathy. Study Design: Case Control study. Setting: Department of Physiology and Centre for Research in Experimental and Applied Medicine (CREAM), Army Medical College, in Collaboration with Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi. Period: December 2019 to December 2020. Material & Methods: A total of ninety subjects were enrolled in the study which were subdivided into three groups; healthy subjects, diabetic subjects and patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). The permission for carrying out the study was obtained from ethical review committee. Confidentiality of the data was maintained. The data obtained was analyzed and processed using SPSS software. Results: The mean Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) levels were found to be 5.51 ± 0.34 (mmol/l), 8.11 ± 0.67 (mmol/l) and 8.73 ± 0.90 (mmol/l) in healthy controls, diabetic subjects and patients with DR respectively (p=0.001). The mean serum homocysteine levels were found to be 10.12 + 1.95 (µmol/l), 24.99 ± 4.25 (µmol/l) and 45.78 + 9.66 (µmol/l) in healthy controls, diabetic subjects and patients with DR respectively (p=0.001). Conclusion: Our research can be concluded that serum homocysteine levels have a strong association with the development of diabetic retinopathy. Monitoring the serum levels of this inflammatory biomarker can therefore be helpful in obviating the development of diabetic microangiopathic complications, particularly diabetic retinopathy. Serum homocystein can be used a prognostic tool in the progression of microangiopathic complications of diabetes.