Early worsening of diabetic retinopathy

Observational, retrospective cohort study of subjects in the ‘Individualised Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy’ (ISDR) study who demonstrate rapid, substantial lowering of HbA1c.

Tight glycaemic control is a major clinical goal for patients with diabetes due to unequivocal evidence that it reduces incidence of both macrovascular and microvascular complications. However, rapid reduction in HbA1c carries the risk of DR progression. In this retrospective study we investigated risk factors for early worsening in response to rapid improvement in glycaemic control. We use data from the ‘Individualised Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy’ (ISDR) study, an ongoing, 7-year cohort study of patients with diabetes attending primary care facilities in Liverpool.

My role on this project was data extraction, processing and formatting. Data contained demographics, systemic variables (HbA1c, BMI, BP, Lipids) and retinopathy grading.