Monique S. Roy, MD, professor, Ophthalmology Department, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). Not shown: Joan Skurnick, PhD, associate professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, NJMS, and Department of Quantitative Methods, UMDNJ-School of Public Health.
Six-Year Incidence of Visual Loss in African Americans with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
by Monique S. Roy and Joan Skurnick
O
bjective: To report the 6-year incidence of visual loss and associated risk factors in African Americans with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: African Americans with type 1 diabetes
(n = 483) who participated in the New Jersey 725 study were reexamined as part of a 6-year follow-up. Best-corrected visual acuity, a structured clinical interview, fundus photographs, and blood pressure measurements were obtained. The biological evaluation included blood and urine assays. Any visual loss was defined as a visual acuity of 20/40 or worse in the better eye, blindness as a visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye, and doubling of the visual angle (DVA) as the loss of 15 or more letters between the first and second visits.
Results: Over 6 years, 19 of 440 patients (4.3%) developed visual loss in the better eye, 3 of 472 patients (0.6%) became blind, 47 of 481 patients (9.8%) developed DVA in the better eye, and 65 of 481 (13.5%) developed DVA in either eye. Baseline older age, high glycosylated hemoglobin level, retinopathy severity, and proteinuria were characteristics significantly (P<.001 for all) and independently associated with DVA in either eye at follow-up.
Conclusions: The 6-year incidence of DVA in either eye (13.5%) is high in African Americans with type 1 diabetes. Baseline poor glycemic control, diabetic retinopathy severity, proteinuria, and older age are predictors of visual loss in this population.
Author Affiliations: The Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Dr Roy) and Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health (Dr Skurnick), University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark.
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| Figure 1. Six-year incidence of visual loss (visual acuity [VA] of2 0/40 or worse in the better eye), blindness (VA of 20/200 or worse in the better eye), and doubling of the visual angle (DVA) in the better eye and in either eye according to age at baseline. |
This abstract is published with permission from the Arch Ophthalmol, August 2007, Vol.125: pages 1061-1067; Copyright © 2007, American Medical Association. All rights reserved. |
