Evaluation of kidney function and risk factors of retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus people in South Africa.

AIM: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a disease of the retina and an important microvascular complication of diabetes, frequently causing blindness in adults. The study aims to evaluate kidney function and risk factors for the development of retinopathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients.

METHODS: A total of 140 participants (54 Type 2DM without retinopathy, 44 with DR and 42 normal, healthy controls) consented to participate in the study. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile and renal function tests were measured using routine laboratory methods.

RESULTS: A significant increase in FPG, HbA1c, serum triglycerides (TG), serum urea, urine albumin, the urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) and, a significant decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was observed in DR patients, compared to controls. In multivariate logistic analysis, FPG, insulin treatment and UACR were the risk factors found to be significantly associated with the presence of retinopathy. According to the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the diagnostic performance of UACR≥1.45mg/mmol-1 l-1 was the optimal cut-off point.

CONCLUSION: A mild alteration in renal function was observed in DR patients and UACR is found to be an important risk factor and can be a valuable marker for predicting DR.