Association of serum lipid levels with diabetic retinopathy

Ebru Cetin

Yunus Bulgu

Seyfullah Ozdemir

Senay Topsakal

Fulya Akın

Hulya Aybek

Cem Yıldırım

AIM

To assess the association between serum lipids and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

Sixty-one diabetic patients without retinopathy(NDR), 55 diabetic patients with non-proliferative retinopathy(NPDR) and 75 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy (PDR) according to ETDRS grading scale were enrolled in this study. Total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride values were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

The groups were well-balanced in terms of age and gender (P=0.071, P=0.265 respectively). The mean HbA1c values were significantly lower in NDR group than the NPDR and PDR groups (P=0.004, P=0.009 respectively). Mean total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL and VLDL levels were not significantly different between the groups (P=0.693, P=0.774, P=0.644, P=0.910 and P=0.967 respectively, one way ANOVA). Mean total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, HDL and VLDL levels were not significantly different between the patients with ME and patients without ME (P=0.622, P=0.113, P=0.955, P=0.735 and P=0.490 respectively, t-test). The mean blood glucose significantly correlated with total cholesterol (r=0.173, P=0.017) and LDL (r=0.190, P=0.008). The mean HbA1c significantly correlated with total cholesterol (r=0.158, P=0.030) and triglyceride (r=0.148, P=0.042).

CONCLUSION

Serum lipid levels were not significantly associated with the severity of DR or existence of ME despite the significant correlation between the mean blood glucose, HbA1c and total cholesterol.

^{Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey}

^{Department of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey}

^{Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey}

Correspondence to: Ebru Nevin Çetin. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. moc.liamg@urbe.nitec, rt.ude.uap@nitece

Received 2012 Oct 5; Accepted 2013 May 27.

Abstract

AIM

To assess the association between serum lipids and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Serum lipid levels were not significantly associated with the severity of DR or existence of ME despite the significant correlation between the mean blood glucose, HbA1c and total cholesterol.

Keywords: cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, macular edema, triglyceride

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Clayton Scanlon is appreciated for assistance with English editing. This report was presented at 45^{National Congress of Turkish Society of Ophthalmology (5-9 October 2011)}

Acknowledgments

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