Evidence mapPaperPMID 41837122Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2026

Diabetic retinopathy severity is associated with renal function deterioration in patients with diabetic kidney disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Liping Yu, Yanrong Zhang, Chuan Sun, Haipeng Zhao, Yujie Yan

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Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Liping YuEndocrinology Department, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yanrong ZhangEndocrinology Department, The Second Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Chuan SunOphthalmology Department, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China.
Haipeng ZhaoOphthalmology Department, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yujie YanOphthalmology Department, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: To investigate whether the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the presence of hard exudates (HEs) are associated with renal function deterioration in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study including 140 patients with DKD. The outcome was the progression of DKD (an estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) decline (%)>15%) over a 5-year follow-up period. A total of 101 patients had eGFR parameters during the follow-up. DR was categorized into nonproliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR). HEs were identified via optical coherence tomography (OCT). Clinical and laboratory data were acquired from medical records. The influence of the severity of DR and the presence of HEs were assessed via Cox regression. Results: The mean follow-up time was 34.31 (± 16.36) months. A significant difference was found in eGFR decline (%) (P = 0.024) between the absent DR, NPDR and PDR groups. eGFR decline (%) was more severe in patients with HEs than in those without HEs (P = 0.011). After adjustment for age, body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), systolic blood pressure, eGFR at baseline, urine albumin creatine ratio (UACR) stage at baseline, use of Sodium-Glucose Linked Transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, as well as potential confounders such as duration of Diabetic mellitus (DM), use of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors (RAS) inhibitors and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs), Cox regression revealed that PDR (p=0.035) and NPDR (p=0.049) were independently associated with renal function deterioration. Compared with the participants in the absent DR group, participants with PDR, as well as NPDR presented a nearly threefold greater risk (adjusted HR = 2.88; 95% CI: 1.08-7.71; adjusted HR = 2.78; 95% CI: 1.004-7.70, respectively). However, the presence of HEs was not independently associated with renal function deterioration in the adjusted Cox model (P = 0.567). Conclusions: DR severity was independently associated with the progression of DKD, whereas HEs were not. DKD patients with PDR as well as NPDR should undergo kidney function testing more frequently and receive early intervention to prevent renal function deterioration.

Indexed as

Diabetic NephropathiesDiabetic RetinopathyKidneyAgedDisease ProgressionFemaleFollow-Up StudiesGlomerular Filtration RateHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSeverity of Illness Indexdiabetic kidney diseasediabetic retinopathyestimated glomerular filtrationhard exudatesrenal function deterioration

Identifiers

PMID41837122
PMCPMC12980877

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.