Association of HbA1c with Diabetic Retinopathy in Diabetic Patients

Background: Retinopathy due to diabetes is increasing in patients due to increase prevalence of diabetes. Objective : We tried to find if there is any association of HbA1c with Diabetic Retinopathy in diabetic patients of Kharian. Methods: This study was conducted in OPD medical department of THQ hospital Kharian after getting approval letter (CKMC/IERB/AC-00104) from Institutional Ethical Review Board of CMH Kharian Medical College.  Consent was taken from 150 randomly selected diabetic patients. It was a cross-sectional study from 10 Oct 2023 to 10 Jan 2024. History was taken from the patient to know their parameters of age, gender, duration of diabetes. Indirect fundoscopy of all patients was performed to assess the status of retinopathy. We checked HbA1C, random  blood glucose levels of patients. Results:  All 150 diabetic patients were examined for diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy was prevalent among 50 % of the participants. 75 patients had diabetic retinopathy.  Significant association was found between diabetic retinopathy and HbA1c levels of HbA1c (p = 0.001).  Duration of diabetes mellitus and family history of diabetes was also significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy (p = 0.001). Conclusion:  One-half of the diabetic patients in our study had retinopathy. Levels of HbA1c and duration of diabetes mellitus are demonstrated as undeniable risk factors for Diabetic Retinopathy and can be used for screening to prevent blindness due to diabetic retinopathy.