INCIDENCE OF RETINOPATHY AND ASSOCIATED RISK-FACTORS FROM TIME OF DIAGNOSIS OF INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES

Objective: To describe the prevalence at baseline and 4-year incidence of retinopathy and its relation to glycemic control from the time of diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes. Design: Geographically define d population-based study. Setting: Twenty-eight-county area in Wiscons in. Study Population: Incipient cohort of children, teenagers, and you ng adults (n=354) up to 30 years of age with newly diagnosed insulin-d ependent diabetes. Main Outcome Measure: Diabetic retinopathy as deter mined by gradings from 30 degrees color stereoscopic photographs of th e Diabetic Retinopathy Study 7 standard fields. Results: The prevalenc e of retinopathy at diagnosis was 1.3%. Four years after diagnosis of diabetes, retinopathy was first identified in 5.1% of our cohort and i n 9.7% of those 15 years of age or older. After controlling for age, s ubjects with a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of 12% or greater we re 3.2 times as likely (95% confidence interval, 1.1-9.9) to have reti nopathy present at follow-up as were subjects with a mean glycosylated hemoglobin level of less than 12%. Conclusion: Population-based data on the frequency and incidence of retinopathy from the time of diagnos is of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus provided by this study sugge st a possible reduction in risk of developing retinopathy in those in whom glycemic control is achieved from the time of diagnosis.