Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common and serious complication of diabetic microangiopathy. The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of DR and to analyze the various factors associated with its development and progression.

Patients and methods: Analytical prospective study including 454 diabetic patients requiring an eye examination, hospitalized at the endocrinology-diabetology department of the University Hospital of Casablanca between January 2016 and January 2018.

Results: The mean age of our patients was 45 years (14–81 years), with type 2 diabetes predominating in 67% of cases, the mean HbA1c level was 10.2% and average duration of diabetes was 8.2±9.53 years. We noted a prevalence of 53% (242 cases) of diabetic retinopathy and 25% (113 cases) of diabetic maculopathy. The distribution of cases by stage of DR was: minimal non-proliferative DR in 32% of cases, moderate non-proliferative DR in 22%, severe non-proliferative DR in 9% and proliferative in 8% of cases. The prevalence of DR was correlated with the age of diabetes (P <0.005) and the glycemic control (P <0.001). The presence of high blood pressure or diabetic nephropathy was not associated with a higher prevalence of RD (P=0.2). No statistically significant association was found for age, sex, type of diabetes.

Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy increases statistically significantly with poor glycemic control and age of diabetes, highlighting the need for long-term glycemic control.