Risk for diabetic retinopathy up for children with type 2 diabetes

(HealthDay)—Children with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk for developing diabetic retinopathy compared with those with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a study published online Dec. 2 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Patricia Bai, from the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and colleagues conducted a retrospective, population-based medical record review involving all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, diagnosed with diabetes at younger than 22 years from Jan. 1, 1970, through Dec. 31, 2019. The risk for developing ocular complications was examined over time.

The researchers found that 31.2 percent of the 461 children with T1D and 26.6 percent of the 64 children with T2D had diabetes-associated ocular complications. Comparing children with T2D to those with T1D, the hazard ratio was 1.88 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.13 to 3.12; P = 0.02) for developing any diabetic retinopathy (nonproliferative or greater), 2.33 (95 percent CI, 0.99 to 5.50; P = 0.048) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 1.49 (95 percent CI, 0.46 to 4.89; P = 0.50) for diabetic macular edema, 2.43 (95 percent CI, 0.54 to 11.07; P = 0.24) for a visually significant cataract, and 4.06 (95 percent CI, 1.34 to 12.33; P = 0.007) for needing pars plana vitrectomy by 15 years after diabetes diagnosis.

"The natural history of retinopathy development among youth diagnosed with T2D may differ from that in youth diagnosed with T1D, where patients with T2D may be more susceptible to developing retinopathy than those with T1D," the authors write.

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