Peripheral blood HIF-1α levels: a study on their predictive ability for early-stage diabetic retinopathy

This study aims to investigate the correlation between the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the peripheral blood of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and early-stage diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to evaluate its potential as a predictor of early DR.

From November 2021 to December 2023, 70 patients who underwent fundus photography at Zhangzhou Second Hospital were recruited. Based on the results, patients were categorized into a T2D group comprising 25 patients and a DR group comprising 45 patients. In addition, 18 healthy individuals who underwent routine physical examinations during the same period were included as a control group. Serum levels of the HIF-1α protein were measured in all three groups.

The results indicated that patients in the early-stage DR group had significantly higher levels of HIF-1α, albumin (Alb), Ca and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) compared to the T2D group (P < 0.05). In addition, patients in the DR group exhibited higher levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) than the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence rates of DR in groups A, B, C and D were 18.18, 31.82, 59.09 and 95.45%, respectively, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between HIF-1α and age, disease duration (years), systolic blood pressure, Cr, FPG and HbA1c, with a strong positive correlation between HIF-1α and HbA1c (P < 0.05) optimal cutoff value of 2.3855 ng/mL.

Increased levels of HIF-1α in peripheral blood are closely linked to the development of DR, suggesting that HIF-1α may act as a potential biomarker for the early detection and prediction of DR risk.