Factors influencing the development of diabetic vascular complications

In order to elucidate the factors influencing the development of diabetic vascular complications, a retrospective clinical study was carried out in 255 patients, who had been treated in our diabetes clinic for more than 10 years. The patients were divided into three groups according to their retinal lesions: group A, 89, had no retinal lesions; group B, 118, Scott I and II; and group C, 48, Scott III or more advanced lesions. Although there were no significant differences in body weight or age at onset of diabetes between the three groups, the severity of the disease at the first visit and the method of treatment were regarded as important factors in the development of vascular complications. Hypertension, albuminuria and hypercholesterolemia were observed more often in group C than groups A and B, while there was no difference in EKG abnormalities between the three groups. No significant difference was demonstrated concerning control of blood glucose, incidence of hypoglycemia, urinary glucose and ketone bodies, serum triglyceride, hemoglobin A1c, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase or serum lipoperoxide. These results suggest that the complicated mechanism involved in the development of vascular complications should be investigated and a long-term dynamic observation should be carried out.