Clinical spectrum of diabetic retinopathy and its correlation with risk factors

Objectives: To study the clinical spectrum of diabetic retinopathy and its correlation with its risk factors.Material and Methods: A prospective, cross sectional and unmasked study was done in patients of diabetes mellitus presenting in OPD of RIO, PGIMS Rohtak. Total 60 patients were included in the study which were divided into 3 groups each of 20 patients, based on the duration of DM: Group A < 5 years, Group B 6-10 years and Group C > 10 years. Staging of retinopathy was done on the basis of International diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema severity scale. Demographical factors like age and sex were correlated with duration of DM. Various clinical forms of diabetic retinopathy ranging from no apparent DR to severe NPDR to PDR were correlated to different laboratory parameters like degree of hyperglycemia, Hb, lipid profile, blood pressure, renal function tests to ascertain correlation between them.Results: Total prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in our study was 56.66%. Males were at higher risk in comparison to females. In our study, duration of disease was found to be strongly associated with diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Hyperglycemia as measured by FBS and HbA1c is found to be an important risk factor in diabetic retinopathy. Hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, deranged RFT and anaemia is statistically associated with diabetic retinopathy and its severity.Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable blindness. Therefore early diagnosis, timely screening and control of diabetes mellitus is of utmost importance.