Diabetes, sleep apnoea ups risk of eye disease
Diabetes patients who are also suffering from obstructive sleep
apnoea may be at greater risk of developing a common
form of eye disease leading to blindness, researchers found. Diabetic
retinopathy — the most common form of eye disease — affects
between 40 and 50 per cent of patients with diabetes. The
findings showed that the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was higher in
patients with sleep apnoea (42.9
per cent) compared to those without sleep apnoea (24.1 per cent) — that causes
snoring and interrupting breathing. Further, it was also more common in
patients with both Type 2 diabetes and
sleep apnoea compared to those with only high blood sugar levels
alone. “Despite improvements in glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels,
diabetic retinopathy remains very common,” said Abd Tahrani from the University
of Birmingham. Importantly, patients with sleep apnoea and Type 2 diabetes
may also be at an increased risk of developing advanced diabetic retinopathy
over a period of three years and seven months.
These patients may also not be aware of the onset of
diabetic retinopathy and the disease could go undiagnosed for years, the
researchers said. For the study, published in the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the team involved 230 patients with
Type 2 diabetes who were assessed for diabetic retinopathy using specialist
retinal imaging, while sleep apnoea was assessed using a home-based
multi-channel cardio-respiratory portable device. At a follow-up
appointment, on average 43 months later the patients with sleep apnoea (18.4
per cent) were more likely to develop moderate to severe diabetic retinopathy
compared to those without sleep apnoea (6.1 per cent). “We can conclude
from this study that OSA is an independent predictor for the progression to
moderate or severe diabetic retinopathy in patients with Type 2 diabetes,”
Tahrani said.
14.07.2017
Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong
Calvin Coolidge
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