Type 2 diabetes-associated carotid plaque burden is increased in patients with retinopathy compared to those without retinopathy

摘要

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality among subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D), and diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been associated with an increased risk for CVD. The present study was designed to test the concept that T2D patients with DR, but without previous cardiovascular (CV) events and with normal renal function, have an increased atherosclerotic burden compared with patients without DR. A cross-sectional study was performed using patients with normal renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >60?ml/min) and without previous CV events. A total of 312 patients (men, 51%; mean age, 57?yrs; age range 40–75?yrs) were included in the study; 153 (49%) of the patients had DR. B-mode carotid ultrasound imaging was performed for all of the study subjects to measure the carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaques in the common carotid artery (CCA), bifurcation and internal carotid artery (ICA). The percentage of carotid plaques in T2D patients with DR was higher than in T2D patients without DR (68% vs. 52.2%, p?=?0.0045), and patients with DR had a higher prevalence of ≥2 carotid plaques (44.4% vs. 21.4%; p?