Children with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk for developing diabetic retinopathy compared with those with type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Patricia Bai, from the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and colleagues, conducted a retrospective, population-based medical record review involving all 525 residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, diagnosed with diabetes at younger than 22 years from 1 January 1970, through 31 December 2019.
The risk for developing ocular complications was examined over time. The risk of diabetic retinopathy was 88% greater in those with type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with those with type 1 diabetes (T1D) within the first 15 years of disease. Similarly, the risk of developing proliferative diabetic retinopathy or requiring pars plana vitrectomy was greater in T2D than T1D. The researchers found that 31.2% of the 461 children with T1D and 26.6% of the 64 children with T2D had diabetes-associated ocular complications.
“The natural history of retinopathy development among youth diagnosed with T2D may differ from that in youth diagnosed with T1D, where patients with T2D may be more susceptible to developing retinopathy than those with T1D,” the authors wrote.
The findings suggest children with T2D may potentially require earlier surveillance and intervention to prevent vision-threatening complications.
