Incidence and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the Greenlandic Inuit: A register-based study

Aims

Assess the incidence and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among all persons registered with diabetes in the electronic medical records (EMR) from 2016 to 2020 and investigate factors associated with both incident and prevalent DR.

Methods

We calculated the five-year incidence rate of DR per 1000 person years, and calculated the prevalence of DR, using Poisson regression analysis. We calculated the incidence rate ratios (IRR) in univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analysis, to assess risk factors associated with incident DR. We calculated the Odds ratios (OR) to assess risk factors of prevalent DR in univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses.

Results

We found 10.4% persons developed incident DR during follow-up, equivalent to an incidence rate of DR of 29.2 pr. 1000 (95%CI: 22.9–37.3) person years. The total prevalence of DR was 13.6%. Higher HbA₁c levels and longer diabetes duration were significantly associated with incident and prevalent DR. Higher levels of LDL cholesterol were significantly associated with a lower risk of incident DR.

Conclusion

The incidence and prevalence of DR in Greenland is lower than in most other parts of the world. In agreement with previous studies on risk factors for DR, HbA₁c levels and diabetes duration were associated with incident/prevalent DR.