Visual impairment and retinopathy in people with normal glucose tolerance, impaired glucose tolerance, and newly diagnosed NIDDM.
OBJECTIVE
Prevalence rates of visual impairment and retinopathy were compared in 1992 people with normal glucose tolerance, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), or newly diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).


METHODS
Glucose tolerance status was based on an oral glucose tolerance test after exclusion of those with a history of diabetes and/or diabetes medication use in an upper middle-class community of older white adults in southern California between 1984 and 1987.


RESULTS
Although many sex-specific comparisons were made between glucose tolerance groups, only a few emerged as statistically significant. Among those, women with IGT had significantly higher age-adjusted rates of visual impairment (10.8%) than women with normal glucose tolerance (4.4%). Among men, those with IGT had significantly higher age-adjusted rates of visual impairment (7.9%) than men with newly diagnosed NIDDM (4.0%).


CONCLUSIONS
Low frequencies of retinopathy were found in all three glucose tolerance groups.
Klein
R
R
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Barrett-Connor
E L
EL
Blunt
B A
BA
Wingard
D L
DL
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism
D005947:Glucose