title: Incidence and Risk Factors for Developing Diabetic Retinopathy among Youths with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes throughout the United States.
abstract: Despite the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among children and adolescents, little is known about their risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR). We sought to identify risk factors for DR in youths with diabetes mellitus, to compare DR rates for youths with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and those with T2DM, and to assess whether adherence to DR screening guidelines promoted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Diabetes Association adequately capture youths with DR.
  
  
  
  Retrospective observational longitudinal cohort study.
  
  
  
  Youths aged ≤21 years with newly diagnosed T1DM or T2DM who were enrolled in a large US managed-care network.
  
  
  
  In this study of youths aged ≤21 years with newly diagnosed T1DM or T2DM who were under ophthalmic surveillance, we identified the incidence and timing of DR onset. Kaplan-Meier survival curves assessed the timing of initial diagnosis of DR for participants. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression modeling identified factors associated with the hazard of developing DR. Model predictors were age and calendar year at initial diabetes mellitus diagnosis, sex, race/ethnicity, net worth, and glycated hemoglobin A1cfraction (HbA1c).
  
  
  
  Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for developing DR.
  
  
  
  Among the 2240 youths with T1DM and 1768 youths with T2DM, 20.1% and 7.2% developed DR over a median follow-up time of 3.2 and 3.1 years, respectively. Survival curves demonstrated that youths with T1DM developed DR faster than youths with T2DM (P < 0.0001). For every 1-point increase in HbA1c, the hazard for DR increased by 20% (HR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.06-1.35) and 30% (HR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.08-1.56) among youths with T1DM and T2DM, respectively. Current guidelines suggest that ophthalmic screening begin 3 to 5 years after initial diabetes mellitus diagnosis, at which point in our study, >18% of youths with T1DM had already received ≥1 DR diagnosis.
  
  
  
  Youths with T1DM or T2DM exhibit a considerable risk for DR and should undergo regular screenings by eye-care professionals to ensure timely DR diagnosis and limit progression to vision-threatening disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Sophia Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Center for Eye Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Chris A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.affiliation: Michigan Diabetes Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Center for Eye Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Center for Eye Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Electronic address: jdstein@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Joshua D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human