[Is microalbuminuria a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy?]

To determine the relationship between microalbuminuria and diabetic retinopathy.

A prospective 10-year study of 104 younger-onset diabetic patients. The diabetic retinopathy diagnosis was made by fundus retinography, and determination of microalbuminuria was made from urine samples.

The incidence of diabetic retinopathy in this group of patients was 39 (37.5%). The epidemiological factors implicated were diabetes duration, higher levels of HbA(1c), male sex, and diastolic arterial hypertension. The incidence of microalbuminuria was 21 patients (20.2%), with high levels of HbA(1c) the epidemiological factor implicated. The association between microalbuminuria and diabetic retinopathy grouped the patients as follows: 56 patients without microalbuminuria or retinopathy, 16 patients who developed microalbuminuria and diabetic retinopathy, 23 patients who developed retinopathy but not microalbuminuria, and nine patients who developed only microalbuminuria. The discriminant analysis showed that the high levels of HbA(1c) were associated with microalbuminuria and diabetes duration and high levels of HbA(1c) were associated with diabetic retinopathy.

In the population studied, microalbuminuria was not a good marker for diabetic retinopathy.