Use of digital retinography to detect vascular changes in pre-diabetic patients: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Diabetology and metabolic syndrome Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 1 - 225
• Main Authors: Araújo, Levimar Rocha, Orefice, Juliana Lambert, Gonçalves, Monica Aramuni, Guimarães, Nathalia Sernizon, Soares, Aleida Nazareth, Salomon, Tassila, de Souza, Alessandra Hubner
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 06-11-2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Angina pectoris; Blindness; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Confidentiality; Correspondence; Cross-sectional studies; Development and progression; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic retinopathy; Diabetics; Digital photograph; Education; Hemoglobin; Hypertension; Medical research; Medical screening; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolic disorders; Obesity; Ophthalmological diagnostic techniques; Pre-diabetes; Prediabetic state; Privacy; Retinography; Retinopathy; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Type 2 diabetes; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Variables; Vascular changes
• ISSN: 1758-5996; 1758-5996
• DOI: 10.1186/s13098-023-01154-2

Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of DM and may go unnoticed until irreversible damage occurs. Its screening can contribute to the early detection. Although, there are no studies which investigate the ability of digital retinography to detect vascular changes in pre-diabetic patients. Objective Identify the prevalence and severity of RD in patients with pre-diabetes. Methods Cross-sectionalstudy carried out in a sample of patients with pre-diabetes and weight excess characterized from January 2020 to April 2023. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected, in addition to lifestyle habits. Retinographic evaluation was also performed using a Digital Retinography. For the analysis of all variables, the adopted significance level was 5%. The software used for the analysis was SPSS version 25.0. Results Of 108 patients selected 7.1% have alteration in the exam indicating DR. Among the participants with diabetic retinopathy, four had the moderate form (50%), three the moderate form (37%) and only one participant had the severe form (13%). Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of preventive measures and adequate control of these conditions in pre-diabetic patients, in order to prevent or delay the progression of diabetic retinopathy and, consequently, reduce the risk of blindness and other ocular complications. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Pre-diabetes, Ophthalmological diagnostic techniques, Digital photograph, Vascular changes, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Obesity