Prevalence and Risk Factors of Fundus Pathology in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in a Northeastern Chinese Cohort.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of and risk factors for fundus pathology in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a cohort from northeastern China.

Methods: Patients were included from the Fushun Diabetic Retinopathy Cohort Study. Patients aged ≥ 30 years with T2DM were recruited between July 2012 and May 2013. Fundus pathology included retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular pathology, pathologic myopia (PM) and glaucomatous optic atrophy (GOA).

Results: A Total of 1998 patients with gradable fundus photographs were included in this study, of whom 388 (19.42%) had fundus pathology regardless of whether they had diabetic retinopathy (DR). There were 187 (9.36%) patients with AMD, 97 (4.85%) with GOA, 67 (3.35%) with macular pathology, 35 (1.75%) with PM and 23 (1.15%) with RVO. Advanced age was significantly associated with AMD (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.01-1.05), macular pathology (OR, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.03-1.09) and GOA (OR, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.04-1.09). A wider central retinal arteriolar equivalent was protective against PM (OR, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.66-0.92). Wider central retinal venular equivalent was a protective factor for PM (OR, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.68-0.82) and GOA (OR, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.87-0.99).

Conclusions: One-fifth of these patients in northeast China with T2DM had fundus pathology regardless of whether they had DR, indicating the importance of early screening and long-term follow-up.