Protective factors for diabetic retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: Long duration of no less than 10 years.

Aim: To study the factors protecting against diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with over a decade-long history of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A total of 490 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus lasting for ≥10 years were divided into DR and no diabetic retinopathy (no DR) groups. Their basic information was collected, including age, sex, and duration of diabetes mellitus, as well as pertinent laboratory data. Potential correlations between these factors and DR were evaluated using multivariate analysis.
Results: Overall, 208 patients met the diagnostic criteria for DR. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate factors with P < 0.10 after univariate analysis. Age, total bilirubin, and total cholesterol were found to be protective factors against DR. Presence of diabetic kidney disease and diabetic peripheral neuropathy, duration of diabetes mellitus, apolipoprotein B, blood urea nitrogen, and prothrombin time were found to be risk factors for DR.
Conclusions: We conclude that total cholesterol is a protective factor against DR. Specifically, it was confirmed that high levels of total cholesterol reduce the risk of DR. These findings may provide a basis for new diet and lifestyle guidelines for patients with diabetes mellitus.
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