Clinical correlation of diabetic retinopathy with nephropathy and neuropathy

To evaluate the presence of nephropathy and neuropathy in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to correlate the severity of DR to that of diabetic nephropathy and diabetic neuropathy.

This prospective noninterventional hospital-based study included 57 consecutive cases of DR of either sex, presenting to the eye OPD between January 2019 and November 2020 with minimum 5-year duration of Type 1 and 2 DM. Complete ophthalmic examination was done and DR was classified according to early treatment diabetic retinopathy study classification. Severity of diabetic nephropathy was based on urine albumin creatinine ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Severity of diabetic neuropathy was based on nerve conduction velocity.

The study was conducted on 57 patients of whom patients 45 were males and 12 were females. Mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy was present in 22 patients, moderate in 14 patients, severe in 18 patients, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy in 3 patients. In our study, group 30 patients of DR presented without clinically significant macular edema (CSME) and 27 patients presented with CSME. The distribution of severity of DR according to CSME was observed to be statistically significant (P<<0.05). The association of severity of DR with severity of diabetic nephropathy was observed to be statistically significant (P<<0.05). The association of severity of DR with that of diabetic neuropathy was inconclusive.

The association of severity of DR with severity of diabetic nephropathy and diabetic neuropathy can be used as a marker for future chronic kidney diseases progression and also to prognosticate neurological outcomes in diabetic patients.