Introduction:

Diabetic retinopathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.

Objective:

To determine the causal association of different factors with the progression of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetic patients.

Method:

An observational, analytical, case-control study nested in a cohort was carried out at the Santiago de Cuba Ophthalmological Center from October 2017 to October 2019. The variables studied were age, sex, color of the skin, personal and family pathological history, time of evolution of diabetes, type of diabetic retinopathy, and evolution of retinopathy, glycosylated hemoglobin values and albuminuria. The mean, standard deviation and percentage were used as summary measures. For statistical validation, the Chi square test with a significance level of 5% was used. The strength of association was determined by calculating the odds ratio (ratio of crossed products), percentage attributable risk in exposed and percentage population attributable risk.

Results:

HbA1c higher than 7% and microalbuminuria were risk factors for the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Conclusions:

Poor metabolic control, represented by glycosylated hemoglobin values higher than 7% and the presence of microalbuminuria, are risk factors that must be worked on at different levels of care to avoid the progression of diabetic retinopathy and therefore blindness from this cause.

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