Retinopathy screening in patients with Type 1 diabetes diagnosed in young age using a non-mydriatic digital stereoscopic retinal imaging

Background: Diabetic retinopathy seriously impairs patients’ quality of life, since it represents the first cause of blindness in industrialized countries. Aim: To estimate prevalence of retinopathy in young Type 1 diabetes patients using a non-mydriatic digital stereoscopic retinal imaging (NMDSRI), and to evaluate the impact of socio-demographic, clinical, and metabolic variables. Subjects and methods: In 247 young patients glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), gender, age, pubertal stage, presence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), HLA-DQ heterodimers of susceptibility for Type 1 diabetes, and β-cell autoimmunity at clinical onset were considered. At retinopathy screening, we evaluated age, disease duration, pubertal stage, body mass index (BMI-SDS), insulin requirement, HbA1c levels, other autoimmune diseases, diabetes-related complications, serum concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Results: Retinopathy was found in 26/247patients: 25 showed background retinopathy, and 1 had a sight-threatening retinopathy. A significant relationship between retinopathy and female gender ( p =0.01), duration of disease ≥15 yr ( p 65 mg/dl ( p =0.012) and mean HbA1c ≥7.5% or >9% (p=0.0014) were found at the multivariate logistic analysis. Conclusions: Metabolic control is the most important modifiable factor and promotion of continuous educational process to reach a good metabolic control is a cornerstone to prevent microangiopathic complications. Symptoms appear when the complication is already established; a screening program with an early diagnosis is mandatory to prevent an irreversible damage.