Relationship between retinopathy and asymptomatic atherosclerosis determined by measurement of carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

• Published in: Türk Kardiyoloji Derneği arşivi 2016-01, Vol.44 (1), p.24-29
• Main Authors: Kocaoğlu, İbrahim, Kocaoğlu, Emine, Arslan, Uğur, Balcı, Mustafa Mücahit, Vural, Murat, Alp, Mehmet Numan, Aydoğdu, Sinan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - complications; Atherosclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Atherosclerosis - epidemiology; carotid intima media thickness; diabetes mellitus; retinopathy; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness - statistics & numerical data; Case-Control Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetic Retinopathy - complications; Diabetic Retinopathy - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged
• ISSN: 1016-5169; 1016-5169
• DOI: 10.5543/tkda.2015.69313

Presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) may be used as an early marker of atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the presence of DR and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), which is an indicator of early atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 DM. Thirty DM patients with retinopathy (DR group), 28 DM patients without retinopathy (non-DR group), and 27 healthy controls (control group) were included in the study. CIMT was assessed using a high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography device. Mean CIMT was found to be 0.9±0.17 mm in the DR group, 0.8±0.16 mm in the non-DR group, and 0.7±0.13 mm in the control group. CIMT was found to be statistically significantly higher in the DR group compared to the other 2 groups (p