Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common causes of blindness and visual impairment. Therefore, early prediction of its occurrence and progression is important. This study aimed to assess the clinical and predictive significance of plasma fibrinogen concentrations combined monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (FC-MLR) in patients with DR. A total of 307 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) were enrolled. Plasma fibrinogen concentrations and peripheral white blood cells were measured, and MLR was calculated, and the associations of FC-MLR with DR and severity of disease were assessed. Regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to evaluate the risk factors and predictive power of FC-MLR for DR and severity of disease, respectively. DR patients showed higher fibrinogen concentrations and a higher MLR than did T2D patients without complications (P<0.01); Moreover, DR patients in proliferative stage also showed higher fibrinogen concentrations and a higher MLR than did those in non-proliferative stage (P<0.01). FC-MLR was closely associated with occurrence and severity of DR (P<0.01), and was an independent risk factor for them (OR=6.123, 95%CI: 3.122-17.102; and 7.932, 95%CI: 4.315-16.671, respectively; P<0.001). The predictive sensitivity and specificity for DR and severity of disease were 0.86 and 0.68, and 0.85 and 0.73, respectively. The study suggests that FC-MLR may be used as a predictor for the risk and progression of diabetic retinopathy.