Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic kidney disease, either isolated or associated, impact on the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease: are we dealing with similar conditions?

TL;DR

This study explores how diabetic retinopathy and kidney disease affect cardiovascular risk in diabetes patients over 10 years.

Contribution

It compares cardiovascular risk across groups with and without diabetic complications in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Findings

Type 2 diabetes patients with kidney disease had higher cardiovascular risk than those with retinopathy alone.

Renal involvement significantly increased cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes but not in type 1 diabetes.

The study used the AHA cardiovascular disease score to assess 10-year risk in diabetes patients.

Abstract

To evaluate the association between diabetic retinopathy, diabetic kidney
disease, and the 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in
patients with diabetes.

A cross-sectional study was performed involving patients diagnosed with
either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Participants were classified into
four groups: DM (patients without diabetes-related complications), DR
(patients with diabetic retinopathy only), DKD (patients with diabetic
kidney disease only), and DR + DKD (patients with both diabetic retinopathy
and diabetic kidney disease). The primary outcome was the 10-year risk
assessment for cardiovascular events, calculated using the American Heart
Association’s atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease score.

A total of 571 patients were selected including 128 with type 1 diabetes
(average age of 39.4 ± 15.1 years; 48.4% female) and 443 with type 2
diabetes (average age of 59.5 ± 11.9 years; 66.4% female). Among the
participants with type 2 diabetes, the cardiovascular risk was 15.2 ±
14.6% for the DM group, 15.7 ± 10.7% for the DR group, 22.5 ±
16.7% for the DKD group, and 21.5 ± 15.1% for the DR + DKD group,
reflecting a significantly higher cardiovascular risk in the groups with
renal involvement (P <0.001). For those with type 1 diabetes, the DM
group had a risk of 6.1 ± 8.9%, the DR group 8.9 ±11.8%, the
DKD group 5.4 ± 8.8%, and the DR + DKD group 6.1 ± 9.5%. The
mean difference in risk between the groups was not statistically
significant.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, those with diabetic kidney disease appeared
to have a higher theoretical risk of cardiovascular disease compared to
those with only diabetic retinopathy.

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