Risk factors for diabetic retinopathy: univariate and multivariate analysis

ABSTRACT

The risk factors for development of diabetic retinopathy have not yet been well studied in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the possible relationship between diabetic retinopathy and twenty-four demographic, clinical, and metabolic risk factors was examined by us in 370 consecutive diabetic persons presenting to a specialized diabetes center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In univariate analyses, current age, duration of the diabetes, insulin dependence, presence of peripheral neuropathy, peripheral vascular insufficiency, proteinuria, insulin treatment, poor metabolic control, elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, and elevation of systolic blood pressure were all found to correlate significantly with the presence of retinopathy. The significance was confirmed in multivariate analysis only for the duration of the diabetes and the presence of peripheral neuropathy, while correlation with the level of glycosylated hemoglobin approached significance. In the group of non-insulin-dependent diabetics [323 patients], proteinuria was also a significant predictor of retinopathy. These data indicate that the duration of the diabetes is the most important predictor for the development of diabetic retinopathy