[Influence of arterial hypertension on diabetic retinopathy]

The influence of arterial hypertension on the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was evaluated by a cross-sectional study in 882 diabetic patients of whom 337 were insulin-treated and 505 were non insulin-treated. Arterial hypertension was defined by blood pressure values higher than 160-90 mmHg. Retinopathy was considered to be present when at least 2 microaneurysms were observed at the posterior pole. When duration of the diabetes was taken into account the prevalence of retinopathy in hypertensive subjects (69%) was not significantly higher than in normotensive subjects (47%) among the insulin-treated patients. However among non insulin-treated patients retinopathy was significantly more frequent in hypertensive (39%), than in normotensive subjects (25%; p less than 0.05).