Association of High Sensitivity C-reactive Protein with Type II Diabetic Retinopathy

Objective: The objective of this study is to find out the association of diabetic retinopathy with serum homocysteine and high sensitivity (hs) CRP levels. Methods: The research was conducted out at the Army Medical College's Department of Physiology and Centre for Research in Experimental and Applied Medicine (CREAM), Rawalpindi, in partnership with the Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi for a tenure of 12 months. Ninety subjects, were included in the study, thirty in each group: controls, diabetic subjects, and the patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy (DR). Results: Healthy controls, diabetic subjects, and patients with DR were found to have mean Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) values of 5.51 0.34 (mmol/l), 8.11 0.67 (mmol/l), and 8.73 0.90 (mmol/l), respectively (p=0.001). The mean HbA1c level in normal subjects was noted as 5.08 ± 0.27 in healthy controls as compared to 7.70 + 0.89 (mmol/l)) in diabetic subjects and 9.02 + 1.76 (mmol/l) in patients with DR  (p=0.001 by ANOVA).            In normal subjects, the mean hs CRP levels were noted to be 3.74 + 1.97 (mg/l) in healthy controls as compared to 15.32 + 2.93 (mg/l) in diabetic subjects and 26.71 + 4.88 (mg/l) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (p=0.001 by ANOVA). Conclusion: During the study, it was found that elevated levels of these inflammatory biomarkers can accurately predict the onset of diabetic retinopathy and that hs CRP levels are strongly related with the development of diabetic retinopathy. Monitoring these inflammatory signs in the serum can therefore help prevent diabetic microangiopathic consequences, including DR.