Prevalence and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy in Chongqing pre-diabetes patients

Purpose To investigate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and relative risk factors among Chongqing pre-diabetes patients. Methods A total of 750 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional study. All participants underwent a complete physical examination and an oral glucose-tolerance test. In all, 110 of the 125 newly diagnosed pre-diabetics and their healthy spouses as controls were examined with fluorescence fundus angiographies, and their blood with biochemical analyses. All the pre-diabetics with DR (23 subjects), 23 normal controls and 23 pre-diabetics without DR were compared for serum concentrations of regulated upon activation, normal T-expressed and secreted (RANTES). Student's t-test was used to compare continuous variables, and chi(2) test and analysis of variance to compare proportions among groups. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine the risk factors for DR in pre-diabetics. Results In all, 20.91% of the 110 pre-diabetics showed mild non-proliferative DR (NPDR). There was a statistically significant difference in serum concentrations of RANTES between pre-diabetics with and without DR (P < 0.01), and also between pre-diabetics with DR and normal controls (P < 0.01). However, age, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-C, low-density lipoprotein-C, blood urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, and urine albumin excretion rate seemed to have no reliable relationship with DR in pre-diabetics (P > 0.05). Conclusion The prevalence of DR in Chongqing pre-diabetes patients in the study was about 20.91% and only mild NPDR was found. It seems that RANTES is one possible risk factor associated with DR in pre-diabetics, not age, TG and TC, and others. Eye (2012) 26, 816-820; doi:10.1038/eye.2012.50; published online 23 March 2012