Diabetes-related eye disorder signals stroke risk
Posted Feb 28th 2007 1:03PM by Allie Beatty
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Adult Onset, Research
Damage to the retina that sometimes comes with diabetes is associated with an increased risk of having a stroke.
A study involving 1,617 middle-aged people with diabetes led researchers to this conclusion, linking retinopathy and stroke risk. At the start of the study, 197 participants had moderate retinopathy and 44 had severe retinopathy. During an average follow-up of almost 8 years, 75 strokes occurred in the group as a whole. Considering all exacerbating factors -- such as blood pressure, insulin treatment and cholesterol levels -- having diabetic retinopathy more than doubled the likelihood of having a stroke.
Dr. Tien Y. Wong advised Reuters Health, "Diabetes can exert its effects on multiple organs in the body, and damage in the blood vessels seen in the eye -- retinopathy -- is a marker of probably unseen damage occurring elsewhere." Detecting blood vessel damage in the eye is linked to blood vessel damage in the brain, which could result in a stroke. He advises all eye care professionals to perform a more comprehensive assessment of stroke risk if they detect retinopathy in a patient.
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1. type-2
Posted at 8:49PM on Mar 6th 2007 by ddspence