Diabetic retinopathy and its’ association with carotid intima media thickness.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the association of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and CIMT (carotid intima-media thickness) in diabetic subjects and to identify the factors contributing to retinopathy. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Setting: Creek General Hospital, United Medical and Dental College. Period: August 2017 to July 2018. Material and Methods: After identification of 62 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus for the study, their complete history, physical examination and relevant laboratory investigations were recorded. The diabetic retinopathy was assessed by ophthalmoscopy. All subjects underwent Doppler ultrasound scanning of the carotid arteries for measurement of CIMT (carotid intima-media thickness). The data was analyzed through SPSS version 20.0. Student’s t-test was used to assess the association between retinopathy and CIMT and other continuous variables. The association of categorical variables was assessed by Chi-square. P-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The target population constituted 29% males and 71% females. Among the participating subjects 50.2% had retinopathy while 49.8% subjects without retinopathy were included in the study. There was a strong association of retinopathy with carotid intima-media thickness. Retinopathy was also associated with duration of diabetes mellitus, measures of glycemic control, serum creatinine levels, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and serum triglycerides. Conclusion: Retinopathy is strongly associated with CIMT. Poor glycemic control, nephropathy, dyslipidemia and duration of diabetes also show association with retinopathy.