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Diabetic retinopathy likely to progress in African Americans
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Both poor blood glucose control and high blood pressure contribute to the highly progressive nature of diabetic retinopathy among African Americans with type 1 diabetes, according to a study.
Monique S. Roy, MD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, N.J., and Mahmoud Affouf, PhD, of Kean University in Union, N.J., evaluated the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in 483 patients over 6 years. All patients had originally participated in a 1993 study of African Americans with type 1 diabetes.
At baseline, 40.6% of patients did not have DR, 35% had mild DR, and 24.4% had moderate DR. Over 6 years, 72.3% of patients initially without DR developed evidence of retinopathy, while 56% of those who initially had DR showed progression of the disease. Of the progressive cases, 22% advanced to vision-threatening DR, 15% advanced to proliferative DR, and 15.9% developed macular edema, according to the study.
The researchers found significant associations between DR and high baseline levels of glycosylated hemoglobin and systemic hypertension. Progression to proliferative DR was associated with older age, renal disease and severity of DR, according to the study.
The study is published in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.