The Impact Of Severity Of Diabetic Retinopathy In Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment Using Framingham Risk Score- A Pilot Study

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common micro vascular complications of diabetes, estimated to affect approximately 100 million people worldwide, while cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in individuals with type II diabetes. There is limited Indian data reporting the association of Diabetic retinopathy and its severity with CVD. AIM: To study the relation between the severity of DR and risk of CVD in central Indian subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS : The subjects consisted of 50 patients with Diabetes mellitus type II having varying grades of diabetic retinopathy attending eye OPD of a tertiary care hospital in central India. 10 year risk of developing CVD was estimated using the Framingham Risk Score. RESULTS: The number of subjects with an increased risk of developing CVD increased with advancing age (28.57% in 40-49 years to 61.53% in >60 years age group). The risk of CVD was slightly more in males (55.55%) compared to females (43.47%). Out of the 30 patients having sight threatening diabetic retinopathy, 13 had low risk of developing CVD while 17 had high risk of developing CVD. The prevalence of sight threatening retinopathy was more in the high risk group (56.67%) when compared to the low-risk group (40%). DISCUSSION: We found that more subjects having high risk of developing CVD had sight-threatening DR compared to those having low risk. CONCLUSION: Diabetic retinopathy may contribute to CVD risk in Indian population too. A careful cardiovascular assessment and follow-up may be required in individuals with diabetic retinopathy, using a larger sample size