Diabetic retinopathy affects nearly all young patients with type 1 diabetes

Article

One in three young Danish patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus progressed to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and two in three had 2-step progression despite their young age, according to study results recently published in the November 2013 issue of Acta Diabetologica. In addition, these researchers from Denmark found that after 30-years? duration of diabetes, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was almost universal.

One in three young Danish patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus progressed to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and two in three had 2-step progression despite their young age, according to study results recently published in Acta Diabetologica. In addition, these researchers from Denmark found that after 30-years' duration of diabetes, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was almost universal.

From 1987 to 1989, these researchers identified a paediatric cohort of children that included approximately 75% of all children in Denmark with type 1 diabetes

In 1995, mean patient age was 21.0 years, and mean duration of diabetes was 13.5 years. The 16-year incidence of proliferative retinopathy was 31.0%, 2-step progression was 64.4% and 2-step regression of diabetic retinopathy was 0.0%. The incidence of diabetic retinopathy was 95.1%.

Upon multivariate logistic regression modelling, progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy was significantly associated with HbA1c levels in 1995 (OR: 2.61 per 1% increase, 95% CI: 1.85-3.68) and diastolic BP of 1995 (OR: 1.79 per 10 mmHg increase, 95% CI: 1.04-3.07). Two-step progression of diabetic retinopathy was associated with male gender (OR: 2.37 versus female, 95% CI: 1.07-5.27), 1995 HbA1c (OR: 3.02per 1% increase, 95% CI: 2.04-4.48), and 1995 vibration perception threshold (OR: 1.19 per 1 volt increase, 95% CI: 1.02-1.40).

To access these data, click here.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
At this year's Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nitish Mehta, MD, shared highlights from his research documenting real-world results of aflibercept 8 mg for patients with diabetic macular oedema.
ARVO 2025: Anat Loewenstein, MD, shares data from herself and her colleagues on meeting needs of patients with diabetic retinopathy
At the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons annual meeting, Sheng Lim, MD, FRCOphth discusses the benefit of endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation for patients with primary open angle glaucoma and cataracts in the CONCEPT study
A photo of Seville, Spain, with the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology logo superimposed on it. Image credit: ©francovolpato – stock.adobe.com; logo courtesy COPHy
Anat Loewenstein, MD, Professor and Director, Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, discusses the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology (COPHy)
Anat Loewenstein, MD, speaks about the 22nd Annual Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration Meeting in February 2025 and shares her global forecast for AI-driven home OCT
Sarah M. Thomasy, DVM, PhD, DACVO, a veterinary ophthalmologist at UC Davis, talks about how her research at the Glaucoma 360 symposium
I. Paul Singh, MD, an anterior segment and glaucoma specialist, discusses the Glaucoma 360 conference, where he participated in a panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in glaucoma care.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.