A population-based study of diabetic retinopathy in insulin-using patients diagnosed before 30 years of age.

In a population-based study of the prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy in southern Wisconsin, 1210 insulin-taking persons who were diagnosed to have diabetes before 30 yr of age and who were receiving primary medical care in the area were identified in 1979-80. From 1980 to 1982, 996 patients were examined. Fundus photographs revealed that 72% of diabetic women and 69% of diabetic men had retinopathy. More men (12%) than women (7%) had severe proliferative retinopathy. Longer duration of diabetes, higher glycosylated hemoglobin, older age at examination, higher diastolic blood pressure, male gender, and presence of proteinuria all contributed significantly to describing increasing severity of retinopathy.