High HbA1c level was the most important factor associated with prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Taiwanese type II diabetic patients with a fixed duration

Background To identify the prevalence and related risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in non-insulin dependent diabetes in Taiwan. Methods A retrospective review of type II diabetic patients in the Diabetes Shared Care System database of our Hospital enrolled from 2002 to 2009. A retinopathy severity score was assigned according to fundus examination by indirect ophthalmoscopy or binocular biomicroscopy. Results Data was collected on 901 subjects, 497 males and 404 females. Of these, 230 (25.53 %) had DR at enrolment. Compared with patients without DR, those with DR were more likely to be female ( p = 0.03) or have higher HbA 1c ( p