Association of retinopathy with coronary atherosclerosis determined by coronary 64-slice multidetector computed tomography angiography in type 2 diabetes

Although there are substantial analyses for association of coronary artery disease (CAD) with diabetic retinopathy (DR), which was recognized as an indicator of risk for CAD in diabetes mellitus (DM), there is as yet little rigorous evaluation of the relationship between DR and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis (CAS) determined by coronary 64-slice multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) in persons with type 2 DM. In this article, we found that CAS associated with DR was independent of the traditional risk factors for CAD [odds ratio (OR): 5.1; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6-10.1; p < 0.001], and the severity and extent of CAS were significantly increased with the incidence and progression of DR (all p < 0.001). An independent association between hypertension, obesity, renal dysfunction and DR was also found (all p < 0.05). The relationship of CAS with DR was relatively continuous and graded under the diabetes status. Therefore, much of CAS and DR could be still multifactorial with common pathway.