A cross-sectional study on association between diabetic retinopathy and glycated hemoglobin level among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata -

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a large public health problem which is rapidly increasing globally as well as in India affecting all age groups. Uncontrolled diabetes increases risk of microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR). Aim and Objective: The aim of the study was to establish the association between glycated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) level and presence and severity of DR. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Kolkata approved by the institutional Research and Ethics Committee. In this study, 107 Type 2 diabetic patients of 40 years of age and above were taken. Direct Ophthalmoscopy for examination of retina and blood for fasting blood sugar (FBS), post-prandial blood sugar (PPBS), and HbA1C estimation was done. Results: Results were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi-square test, Fischer Exact test, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis test were used in statistical analysis as appropriate. Results showed that there was significant association between uncontrolled HbA1C level and presence and severity of DR. Conclusion: Proper screening of HbA1C at an early stage of diabetes can give an alarm to develop DR and thus help people to prevent it. The healthcare workers should make patients aware of the consequences of diabetes and should give advice about the regular checking of HbA1C level at frequent interval.