Frequency of diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria in newly diagnosed type II diabetes mellitus patients and their association with each other

Aim: to determine the frequency of diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria in newly diagnosed patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus. methods: this descriptive case series study was conducted at medicine department of combined military hospital lahore from march 2014 to august 2014. one hundred and fifty seven (157) newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were selected for this study via non probability purposive sampling. all patients had detailed fundus examination and microalbuminuria was diagnosed by calculating albumincreatinine ratio. association between retinopathy and microalbuminuria was also recorded. results: this study showed that the frequency of diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria in newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus was 21.66% and 29.94% respectively. it also concluded that diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria were strongly associated with each other as 14.65% patients had evidence of both. (p value < 0.05) conclusion: every newly diagnosed patient of type 2 diabetes mellitus should have a detailed fundus examination and should be screened for microalbuminuria at the time of diagnosis. this will help us in early detection and prompt treatment of these complications saving a large number of patients from morbidity and mortality.