In a six-year study of African Americans with type 1 diabetes, progression of diabetes-related eye disease was high and related to poor blood glucose control and high blood pressure, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin to process sugar (glucose) into energy. Over time, the resulting high levels of glucose in the blood can cause damage to nerves and blood vessels, including those of the eye. Diabetic retinopathy, a type of diabetes-related eye disease, causes more new cases of legal blindness among U.S. individuals age 20 to 64 than any other factor, according to background information in the article.
Researchers have previously described the risk factors for development and progression of retinopathy in white patients with type 1 diabetes, but little information is available on the disease in African Americans.
Monique S. Roy, M.D., University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, and Mahmoud Affouf, Ph.D., Kean University, Union, N.J., evaluated the progression of retinopathy in 483 individuals who had originally participated in the New Jersey 725 study of African Americans with type 1 diabetes, which began in 1993. Six years later, the participants underwent a second assessment that included a complete eye examination, clinical interview to gather medical history and sociodemographic information, blood pressure reading and height and weight measurements. Photographs of the retina were taken to assess retinopathy status and blood was drawn to measure cholesterol levels and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels, which measure blood glucose control over an extended period.
Patients were classified at baseline by level of diabetic retinopathy, as having none (196 patients, 40.6 percent), mild (169 patients, 35 percent) or moderate to severe (118 patients, 24.4
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JAMA and Archives Journals
11-Sep-2006