[Statistical analysis of relationship between microalbuminuria and diabetic retinopathy]

The relationship between microalbuminuria indicated by the logarithm of the albumin index and the stage of diabetic retinopathy was investigated using 175 diabetic subjects. The relationship and its dependence on the duration and the age of onset of diabetes were analyzed statistically with logistic regression. In younger-onset subjects, microalbuminuria was strongly related to the stage of retinopathy, but in older-onset subjects, the relationship showed to lack. For each subject, the frequency of retinopathy was predicted by the estimated probability calculated with the regression model. When the critical probability was 50%, the sensitivity and specificity were 53.1% and 76.2%, respectively. These results indicated that the regression model using the albumin index might be a useful method to predict the frequency of diabetic retinopathy even without ophthalmoscopic examination.