Sex-based differences in the associations between abdominal obesity and diabetic retinopathy in diabetic patients with normal weight

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate sex-specific differences in associations of abdominal obesity indexes, systemic factors, and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects with normal body mass index (BMI). Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 653 T2DM subjects (402 women and 251 men) with normal BMI (18.5 kg/m2 0.05). Main conclusions: There were sex differences in the relationships between WC, WHR, WHtR, and DR in this T2DM population with normal BMI. Our findings provide new insight into a sex-specific mechanism of DR and management of the condition.

Keywords

• Abdominal obesity
• Body mass index
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Sex differences