In a recent study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, researchers investigated trends in diabetic retinopathy (DR) to identify which patient populations are at higher risk.
Give me some background first.
DR is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, impacting an estimated 9.6 million individuals as of 2021.
Symptoms may include:
- Blurred vision
- Spots or strings floating in the vision (floaters)
- Fluctuating vision
- Dark or empty areas in the vision
- Vision loss (VL)
Now, talk about the study.
Investigators conducted a cross-sectional epidemiologic evaluation utilizing de-identified data from the TriNetX Analytics health research network— a network composed of 56 healthcare organizations in the United States.
Who was included in the study?
Included were 359,126 participants comprised of:
- Type 1 DR (T1DR) or type 2 DR (T2DR) patients
- Mean (SD) age 67 (14) years
- 52% female
How was the study conducted?
Researchers examined participants from 2015 to 2022 who had an International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision code (ICD-10) of T1DR or T2DR.
Go on …
Participants were then stratified by:
- Age cohorts
- 20 to 29
- 30 to 39
- 40 to 49
- 50 to 59
- 60 to 69
- 70+
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sex
The main outcomes and measures were prevalence per 100,000 patients and prevalence odds ratios (OR), calculated using Microsoft Excel and Posit.
Findings?
For T1DR, they found that:
- T1DR increased in prevalence over the study period
- T1DR increased 1.15-fold affecting 70.4 patients per 100,000 in 2022
- White males had the largest prevalence ORs of T1DR at 1.41 (95% CI, 1.36-1.47) compared with White females (reference group)
For T2DR they found:
- T2DR increased 1.07-fold affecting 461.7 patients per 100,000 in 2022
- Over the study period, patients aged 20 to 39 had a 2.5- and 1.6-fold prevalence increase
Tell me more.
Regardless of age group, Hispanic males demonstrated:
- Larger prevalence OR at 4.08 (95% CI, 3.97-4.19) compared with White females
This was followed by:
- Hispanic females at 2.49
- 95% CI, 2.42-2.56
- Black males at 2.23
- 95% CI, 2.17-2.29
- Black females at 2.00
- 95% CI, 1.95-2.05
Expert opinion?
The authors recommended that future studies be conducted to further investigate trends of DR in young adults.
They also stated that their findings support, “DR screening in young adults and for T2DR interventions specifically designed for racial and ethnic (minority) patients most affected by disease.”
Take home.
The findings show that T1DR and T2DR increased over the 7-year study period, with individuals aged 20 to 39 seeing large increases.
Greater increases in T2DR were seen in the Hispanic and Black communities.