Incidence of retinopathy and associated risk factors from time of diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes

• Published in: Archives of ophthalmology (1960) Vol. 115; no. 3; p. 351
• Main Authors: Klein, R, Palta, M, Allen, C, Shen, G, Han, D P, D'Alessio, D J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-03-1997
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - diagnosis; Diabetic Retinopathy - blood; Diabetic Retinopathy - epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Glycated Hemoglobin A - analysis; Humans; Incidence; Male; Photography; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Wisconsin - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0003-9950
• DOI: 10.1001/archopht.1997.01100150353007

To describe the prevalence at baseline and 4-year incidence of retinopathy and its relation to glycemic control from the time of diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes.
Geographically defined population-based study.
Twenty-eight-county area in Wisconsin.
Incipient cohort of children, teenagers, and young adults (n = 354) up to 30 years of age with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy as determined by gradings from 30 degrees color stereoscopic photographs of the Diabetic Retinopathy Study 7 standard fields.
The prevalence of retinopathy at diagnosis was 1.3%. Four years after diagnosis of diabetes, retinopathy was first identified in 5.1% of our cohort and in 9.7% of those 15 years of age or older. After controlling for age, subjects with a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of 12% or greater were 3.2 times as likely (95% confidence interval, 1.1-9.9) to have retinopathy present at follow-up as were subjects with a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of less than 12%.
Population-based data on the frequency and incidence of retinopathy from the time of diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus provided by this study suggest a possible reduction in risk of developing retinopathy in those in whom glycemic control is achieved from the time of diagnosis.