[Prevalence of retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus]

The fact that diabetic retinopathy (DP) exists at the preclinical stage of evolution of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) cannot be' explained in the context of the commonly accepted theory of the etiopathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy. The purpose of the study was to explore the prevalence of DR among patients with new-onset DM-2 and to analyze the possible causes of development of this complication at an early stage of the disease. The prevalence of DR among patients with new-onset DM-2 was found to be 16.4%. In the new-onset DM-2 patients aged above 45 years, the odds ratio for DR. is 2.6 times greater than that in those aged under 45 years. Based on the results of the study, the authors suggest that there are pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for the initiation of diabetic microvascular pathology to the stabilization of hyperglycemia at the stage of decreased glucose tolerance.