Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of retinopathy and microalbuminuria and their correlation in type II diabetic patients. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study 590 patients suffering from diabetes type II were examined. Fundoscopy was performed by practising ophthalmologist. The ratio of urinary albumin to creatinine was assessed by clinitek 100 (Bayer corporation-USA). HbA1C, height and weight also were measured. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of retinopathy was 39.3% (232 patients), 5.4% of which showed to be proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The diabetic retinopathy had significant inverse correlation with body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.02). HbA1C was higher in patients with PDR (mean = 10.5%) than in patients with no signs of retinopathy (mean = 9.5%) and this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). The prevalence of microalbuminuria was 25.9% while 14.5% of the patients revealed to have macroalbuminuria. As expected, diabetic retinopathy and renal involvement were highly positively correlated. (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Microalbuminuria is associated with diabetic retinopathy in type II diabetic patients and is a reliable marker of retinopathy.