ORAL-CONTRACEPTIVES AND RENAL AND RETINAL COMPLICATIONS IN YOUNG-WOMEN WITH INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

Objective.-To evaluate the effects of oral contraceptives (OCs) as a p ossible risk factor for early diabetic renal and/or retinal complicati ons. Design.-A retrospective case-control study. Setting.-A university hospital diabetes clinic. Participants.-Forty-three diabetic women wh o used OCs for 1 year or longer (mean, 3.4 years; range, 1.0 to 7.0 ye ars) were compared with a computer-matched control group of 43 diabeti c women who never used OCs. Main Outcome Measures.-Hemoglobin A1c leve ls, albumin excretion rates, and mean retinopathy scores. Results.-The mean+/-SEM age and duration of diabetes were 22.7+/-0.5 years (range, 17.1 to 30.5 years) and 13.8+/-0.8 years, respectively, for the study group. The mean longitudinal hemoglobin Al, values were similar for s tudy subjects and control subjects. The final mean albumin excretion r ates, reflecting diabetic renal damage, and the mean eye grades were n ot significantly different between the groups. Conclusions.-The use of OCs among young women with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus does n ot pose an additional risk for the development of early diabetic retin opathy and/or nephropathy.