The Association of Diabetic Retinopathy and Cardiovascular Disease: A 13-Year Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

• Main Authors: Chin-Yuan Hsu, Chee-Ming Lee, Kuan-Yu Chou, Chia-Yi Lee, Hung-Chi Chen, Jeng-Yuan Chiou, Min-Yen Hsu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: diabetic retinopathy; cardiovascular disease; nationwide population-based epidemiological study
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8106

Objectives: Previous studies have demonstrated that patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) have a higher prevalence of risk factors known to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD)<b>.</b> We hypothesized that patients with more severe DR could have a higher relative risk of CVD. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we used the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to evaluate whether associations exist between DR and CVD. The data for this nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study were obtained from the NHIRD in Taiwan from 2001 to 2013. The assessed study outcome used was the incidence and other statistical analyses of CVD in patients with DR during a 13-year follow-up period. Results: Our findings obtained from 2001 to 2013 suggest that the incidence rates of CVD are 2.026 times that of diabetes mellitus (DM) without DR (95% C.I. = 1.876–2.187) and 2.75 times that of DM with DR (95% C.I. = 2.487–3.04) compared with the Non-DM group. Conclusion: The relative risk of CVD in DR was greater than that in the Non-DM group for both men and women. Targeted monitoring of DM, especially the co-existence of diabetic retinopathy, is of utmost importance in the clinical care of the DM population.