The prevalence of retinopathy in an unselected population of type 2 diabetes patients from Arhus County, Denmark.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and the causes of visual impairment in an unselected population of type 2 diabetes patients, and to describe the risk factors for developing diabetic retinopathy in this population.


METHODS
A total of 10 851 type 2 diabetes patients were identified in the county of Arhus. A representative sample of 378 patients underwent a routine ocular examination, including fundus photography. Blood pressure and serum haemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and apolipoprotein a were measured.


RESULTS
The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the type 2 diabetes population was 31.5%. In all, 2.9% had proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 5.3% had clinically significant macular oedema. Of the latter, 8/20 (40%) were newly identified and had not yet been laser-treated. There was a positive correlation between severity of retinopathy and duration of diabetes, HbA(1c), systolic blood pressure and treatment with insulin. None of the patients had social blindness (visual acuity < 0.1), but 15/378 (4.0%) had developed visual impairment (VA < 0.3).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and visual impairment in this unselected type 2 diabetes population was lower than anticipated from the existing literature, and causes other than diabetic retinopathy contributed significantly to the occurrence of visual loss. A substantial number of the patients with vision-threatening diabetic maculopathy had not been referred for timely photocoagulation treatment.
Department of Ophthalmology, Arhus University Hospital, Arhus, Denmark. mh@akhphd.au.dk
Marianne N
MN
Hove
Jette K
JK
Kristensen
Torsten
T
Lauritzen
Toke
T
Bek
D000368:Aged; D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology
D001053:Apolipoproteins; D002784:Cholesterol; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D014280:Triglycerides