The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in northwest Spain. An epidemiological study of diabetic retinopathy in Galicia. I.

The prevalence of retinopathy was studied in a group of 1179 diabetic patients attending 11 diabetologic centres in Gallica (Northwest of Spain). The age of the patients was 61.7 +/- 13.8 years, 43.8% were males and 56.2% females. The patients had had diabetes from 8.4 +/- 7.5 years, 30.4% were being treated with insulin, and 69.6% with oral antihyperglycaemics. 16.1% were aged under 40 years at onset as against 83.9% aged over 40 years. The prevalence of retinopathy was 44.7, in the whole group. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified treatment time since onset and age at onset as the factors affecting prevalence, which was 61.8% in the insulin-treated subgroup vs 37% among those treated with oral antihyperglycaemics (p < 0.0001). The prevalence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 5.8% in the whole group.