Correlation of diabetic retinopathy with oxidative biomarkers among diabetic patients

The correlation between serum uric acid, bilirubin levels and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in 68 patients with diabetes were studied. Higher grades of DR were significantly associated with elevated fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, HbA1c and serum uric acid levels, while serum bilirubin levels demonstrated an inverse relationship. A majority of patients had diabetes duration of more than one year, emphasizing the role of chronic hyper-glycemia in DR progression. Monitoring serum uric acid and bilirubin may aid in early detection and assessment of DR severity. However, these biomarkers may have limited utility in predicting the initial development of DR.