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. 2022;65(3):293-299.
doi: 10.1159/000508335. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema in Patients with Early- and Late-Onset Diabetes Mellitus

Yu Wang  1 , Zhong Lin  2 , Gang Zhai  1 , Xiao Xia Ding  1 , Liang Wen  1 , Dong Li  1 , Bo Zou  1 , Ke Mi Feng  2 , Yuan Bo Liang  2 , Cong Xie  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema in Patients with Early- and Late-Onset Diabetes Mellitus

Yu Wang et al. Ophthalmic Res. 2022.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME), as well as their risk factors in patients with early-onset diabetes (EOD, ≤40 years) and late-onset diabetes (LOD, >40 years).

Methods: Patients were recruited from a community-based study, Fushun Diabetic Retinopathy Cohort Study (FS-DIRECT), conducted between July 2012 and May 2013 in China. The presence and severity of DR and DME were determined by a modified Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) retinopathy scale of six-field fundus photographs.

Results: A total of 1,932 patients (796 male, 41.2%) with gradable fundus photography were included. The prevalence of any DR and DME was 67.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 60.3-73.7%) and 39.3% (95% CI: 32.1-46.5%) in the EOD patients, respectively, which were both significantly higher than that in the LOD patients (DR: 41.9%, 39.6-44.2%, p < 0.001; DME: 14.4%, 12.7-16.1%, p < 0.001). Insulin use was associated with both the presence of DR and DME in both EOD and LOD patients. Besides insulin use, a high level of income (odds ratio [OR], 95% CI: 0.05, 0.01-0.51) was negatively associated with DR, and higher high-density lipoprotein (OR, 95% CI: 4.14, 1.44-11.91) was associated with DME among EOD patients.

Conclusion: In this sample of patients with type 2 diabetes, both prevalence of DR and DME were apparently higher in patients who developed diabetes ≤40 years of age than those who developed it later.

Keywords: Age of onset; Diabetes; Diabetic macular edema; Diabetic retinopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. This manuscript has not been published anywhere previously, and it is not simultaneously being considered for any other publication.

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