title: Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in young adults with type 1 diabetes since childhood: the Oulu cohort study of diabetic retinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence and stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a population-based cohort of young Finnish adults who have had type 1 diabetes (T1D) since childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort includes all 5- to 16-year-old patients with T1D who lived in the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District of Finland, in 1989 (n = 216). DR was evaluated from fundus photographs taken in 1989-1990 and again in 2007. The patients were 7 ± 4 years age (range 0-15 years) at the time of diagnosis of T1D, and the average duration of diabetes at the re-evaluation was 23 ± 4 years (range 17-32 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of DR was analysed in 172 patients (80% of the original cohort) at 22-35 years. Proliferative DR (PDR) was observed in 35% (60/172) and non-proliferative DR in 59% (101/172), with no signs of DR being present in the remaining 6% (11/172) of the subjects. The prevalence of DR did not differ by gender (p = 0.356).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After the 18-year follow-up, a high prevalence of DR and PDR (94% and 35%, respectively) was found in patients who have had T1D since childhood, with no difference between the genders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hautala
authors.forename: Virva
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hannula
authors.forename: Tapani
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Palosaari
authors.forename: Tapani
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ebeling
authors.forename: Aura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: fundus photography; population-based; retinopathy; risk factor; type 1 diabetes; young adult