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Signs of retinopathy can predict diabetes
If a patient’s family history includes diabetics, retinopathy signs may predict a subsequent risk of clinical diabetes, according to a study.
Tien Y. Wong, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Centre for Eye Research Australia conducted a population-based cohort study including 7,992 people without diabetes. All participants were between the ages of 49 and 73 years old. The researchers used retinal photographs to evaluate the presence of retinopathy signs.
After a 3-year follow-up, 291 participants (3.6%) developed incident diabetes. In the total cohort, retinopathy was not significantly associated with incident diabetes. However, among participants with a positive family history of diabetes, retinopathy was associated with incident diabetes, the study indicated.
The study is published in the March issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.