The association of hyperlipidemia with retinopathy in diabetic patients aged 15‐50 years in the county of Umeå

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To study possible associations between serum lipid levels and degree of retinopathy in a population-based study on a specific age-group of patients with diabetes mellitus in the county of Umeå, Sweden. Methods: All patients with diabetes mellitus aged 15-50 years living in the county of Umeå were invited to the study. The participating subjects had a standard clinical examination and an eye examination performed. Seven-field stereoscopic photographs were taken of each eye, and the photos were sent to Grading Center, Hammersmith Hospital, London, U.K. for grading of the retinopathy. Blood samples were drawn for analysis of lipoprotein(a), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, cholesterol and triglycerides. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results: In the present study only patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus were included, and 285 of the invited 308 diabetic subjects (93%) took part. When univariate analysis was applied we found statistically significant associations between higher lipoprotein(a) levels, higher triglyceride levels, higher cholesterol levels, lower HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol ratios and increasing severeness of retinopathy. However, in the multivariate analysis triglyceride levels lost their importance while all other significant associations were still present. Conclusion: Associations were found between higher levels of serum total cholesterol, declining ratios of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol/total cholesterol, higher levels of serum lipoprotein(a) and more severe retinopathy in diabetes mellitus type 1. No such association was found between serum triglycerides and degree of retinopathy.

Low cumulative incidence of proliferative retinopathy in childhood-onset type 1 diabetes: a 24-year follow-up study

“…The results of previous studies on the relationship between blood lipids and retinopathy in patients with type 1 diabetes have been inconsistent [32][33][34][35]. Elevated levels of triglycerides at baseline have been reported as a risk factor for PDR [29], consistent with our results.…”

Serum lipid levels in diabetes mellitus patients with and without diabetic retinopathy: A prospective study

“…[11] Mohan et al, in their study found that as the duration of diabetes increased, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy also increased. [12] The association of longer duration with higher risk of DR was in accordance with previously published reports in DCCT; UKPDS; Larsson et al [13] It is obvious that patients with retinopathy significantly had a longer mean duration of diabetes. Many other studies in India also have found an increased prevalence of diabetic retinopathy as duration of diabetes increased.…”

“…[18] The association between serum lipid levels and diabetic retinopathy has been investigated in many studies. [2,5,13,18,19,20,21] The average total cholesterol (TC) levels in our study group was 263.45±65.7mg /dl which was significantly higher than that in the control group and this is similar to studies reported by Dhir et al and Chew et al [2,22] The mean cholesterol levels in mild NPDR, moderate NPDR, severe NPDR, very severe NPDR and PDR were 206.64±14.76, 249.12±11.02, 305.5±20.09, 327.54±19.0, and 375.12±9.98 mg/dl respectively. Thus the mean TC levels showed statistically significant correlation indicating that elevated TC levels were associated with an increasing severity of retinopathy.…”

Association between subclinical hypothyroidism and severe diabetic retinopathy in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes

“…After further adjustment for potential confounding factors, such as HbA1c, BMI, duration of diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, and hypertension, SCH remained significantly associated with severe diabetic retinopathy (OR 2.086 (1.010-4.307), P = 0.047). There was no significant difference in TSH levels according to the different have been observed in patients with SCH [10,11], and a correlation between diabetic retinopathy and dyslipidemia has been reported [12,13]. Furthermore, statin therapy has been reported to reduce the development or severity of diabetic retinopathy [14,15].…”