Characterization of patients with diabetic retinopathy and altered microalbuminuria levels

Abstract

Background: diabetic retinopathy and diabetic kidney disease are highly feared microvascular complications. In our province, there are insufficient studies that address the possible association between these comorbidities. Objective: to characterize clinical and epidemiological variables in patients with diabetic retinopathy and altered values of microalbuminuria, treated at the ophthalmological center of Las Tunas, from October 2020 to May 2023. Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed in a universe of 138 patients with diabetic retinopathy who attended the retinal consultation in the place and during the time period defined in the objective. The sample consisted of 67 patients older than 18 years, with values of microalbuminuria in the range of 30-300 mg/L. The variables evaluated were: type of diabetic retinopathy, age, sex, personal and family history of disease, time of evolution of diabetes, visual acuity, classification of diabetes according to alterations in the retina, microalbuminuria value. The data were analyzed according to descriptive statistics. Results: females predominated (64.2 %), ages 60-79 years (50.7 %) and patients with more than 10 years of diabetes evolution (53.7 %). The most frequent personal pathological history was arterial hypertension (43.3 %). 41.8 % of the eyes had a better corrected visual acuity of 0.6-0.4. Microalbuminuria values were more frequent between 60-90 in cases of non-proliferous diabetic retinopathy and 100-300 in those diagnosed with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Conclusions: characteristics of patients with diabetic retinopathy and elevated levels of microalbuminuria were described.

Keywords

• diabetes mellitus
• retinopatía diabética
• microalbuminuria