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. 2008 Oct;31(10):1985-90.
doi: 10.2337/dc08-0580. Epub 2008 Jul 15.

Timing is everything: age of onset influences long-term retinopathy risk in type 2 diabetes, independent of traditional risk factors

Jencia Wong  1 , Lynda Molyneaux, Maria Constantino, Stephen M Twigg, Dennis K Yue
Affiliations

Timing is everything: age of onset influences long-term retinopathy risk in type 2 diabetes, independent of traditional risk factors

Jencia Wong et al. Diabetes Care. 2008 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that age of type 2 diabetes onset influences inherent susceptibility to diabetic retinopathy, independent of disease duration and degree of hyperglycemia.

Research design and methods: Retinopathy data from 624 patients with a type 2 diabetes duration of 20-30 years (group A) were analyzed by stratifying patients according to age of onset of diabetes and glycemic control. Retinopathy status was scored clinically as per a modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) severity scale. To obviate possible bias due to a higher attrition from comorbidities in those with later-onset diabetes and retinopathy, 852 patients with type 2 diabetes of shorter duration (10-12 years, group B) were similarly studied.

Results: Prevalence and severity of retinopathy was significantly higher in the younger-onset, group A patients. When further stratified according to mean A1C, retinopathy risk remained increased in younger-onset patients. The greatest impact was seen in those with a mean A1C >9% (odds ratio [OR] for retinopathy 16.6, 7.5, and 2.7 for age of diagnosis <45, 45-55, and >55 years, respectively, P = 0.003). By logistic regression, earlier type 2 diabetes onset is associated with increased retinopathy risk, independent of traditional risk factors (OR of retinopathy 1.9, 1.1, and 1 for age of onset <45, 45-55, and >55 years, respectively). Similar results were found in group B patients.

Conclusions: These data suggest an increased inherent susceptibility to diabetic retinopathy with earlier-onset type 2 diabetes. This further supports the importance of delaying development of diabetes and also implies a need for more stringent metabolic targets for younger individuals.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Group A (duration of type 2 diabetes 20–30 years): OR for retinopathy grouped by age of diagnosis and mean A1C. Reference group is age of diagnosis >55 years and A1C <7%.
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