Retinopathy and Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

T he aim of this study was to identifyrisk factors for the development ofretinopathy and microalbuminuria andtheir relation in type 2 diabetic patients.materials and methods: in this cross-sectionalstudy, 590 patients suffering from type 2 diabeteswere examined. fundoscopy was performedby an ophthalmologist. the ratio of urinary albuminto creatinine was assessed by clinitek 100(bayer corporation-usa). hba1c, height andweight also were measured.results: the overall prevalence of retinopathywas 39.3% (232 patients), 5.4% of which provedto be proliferative diabetic retinopathy (pdr).the diabetic retinopathy had a significant inverserelationship with body mass index (bmi)(p=0.02). hba1c was higher in patients withpdr (mean=10.5%) than in patients with nosigns of retinopathy (mean=9.5%), (p=0.001). theprevalence of microalbuminuria was 25.9%while 14.5% of the patients were seen to havemacroalbuminuria. as expected, diabetic retinopathyand renal involvement were highlypositively related. (p=0.001).conclusion: microalbuminuria is associated withdiabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetic patientsand is a reliable marker of retinopathy.