Prevalence and risk factors of retinopathy in children with diabetes mellitus

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe complication of diabetic microangiopathy. The prevalence is low in children and increases with patient age and duration of diabetes. Patients and methods: Full ophthalmologic examination was completed by fluorescein angiography in 36 diabetic patients diagnosed in childhood, with duration of diabetes more than 5 years. Results: After 5 years of diabetes, 44% of the patients had DR. Background retinopathy was found in 31%, preproliferative retinopathy in 5% and proliferative retinopathy in 8% of cases. DR was associated with diabetic maculopathy in 8 patients and cataract in 4 patients. DR was correlated with the age of patients at diagnosis of diabetes, time of ophthalmologic examination, sex, duration and balance of diabetes. Conclusion: The frequency of DR increases with the duration and the imbalance of diabetes. The importance of well balanced diabetes and regular ophthalmologic examination were necessary to decrease the frequency of DR.