Systemic risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus- A cross-sectional study in a South Indian cohort

Purpose: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a multifactorial disease. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the systemic risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 DM in a South Indian Cohort. Materials and Methods: Design: Cross-sectional analytical. All participants fulfilling the eligibility criteria were recruited into two groups: with DR (Group 1) and without DR (Group 2). Both groups were compared for the risk factors using univariate and logistic regression analysis and adjusted Odds ratios (OR) were calculated. Patients in Group 1 were further divided into subgroups based on severity of DR and risk factors were analysed across the subgroups. Results: 93 patients were recruited in each group. Comparing Group 1 versus Group 2: On logistic regression analysis, factors like HbA1c >8% (adjusted OR 7.1), duration >10 years (adjusted OR 22.15), insulin treatment (adjusted OR 6.34), CKD (adjusted OR 12.18), and hypertension (adjusted OR 8.22) were associated with presence of any stage DR. Comparing risk factors across Group 1: HTN and insulin treatment were associated with severity of DR. Conclusion: Insulin treatment for type 2 DM was found to be an additional risk factor in our study. However, this finding needs to be further validated in future prospective cohort studies on larger sample sizes.