Low serum dehydroepiandrosterone levels are associated with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIMS: This cross‐sectional study assessed the association of serum dehydroepiandrosterone levels with the risk of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in a multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the association of dehydroepiandrosterone with diabetic retinopathy after adjusting for confounding factors. A restricted cubic spline was also used to model the association of serum dehydroepiandrosterone level with the risk of diabetic retinopathy and to describe the overall dose–response correlation. Additionally, an interaction test was conducted in the multivariate logistic regression analysis to compare the effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on diabetic retinopathy among age, sex, obesity status, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glycosylated hemoglobin level subgroups. RESULTS: In total, 1,519 patients were included in the final analysis. Low serum dehydroepiandrosterone was significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after adjustment for confounding factors (odds ratio [quartile 4 vs quartile 1]: 0.51; 95% confidence interval: 0.32–0.81; P = 0.012 for the trend). Additionally, the restricted cubic spline indicated that the odds of diabetic retinopathy decreased linearly as the dehydroepiandrosterone concentration increased (P‐overall = 0.044; P‐nonlinear = 0.364). Finally, the subgroup analyses showed that the dehydroepiandrosterone level stably affected diabetic retinopathy (all P for interaction >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Low serum dehydroepiandrosterone levels were significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, suggesting that dehydroepiandrosterone contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.