Are dietary intake parameters of vitamin A, carotene, retinol appropriate factors to evaluate the risk of diabetic retinopathy?

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether dietary parameters of vitamin A, carotene, and retinol are sufficient for assessing the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This was a population-based cross sectional study using systematic stratified, multilevel, nationwide, clustered sampling methods. From 2008 to 2012, 1948 subjects aged ≥ 40 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included. Participants underwent standardized interviews, dietary vitamin A estimation, carotene and retinol level evaluation, and eye examination. Daily dietary intake was evaluated using data in the form of a single 24-hour recall. The odds ratio (OR) of dietary vitamin A between extreme quartiles for DR was 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45–1.16, P for trend = .462) after adjusting for covariates such as age, sex, hypertension, hemoglobin A1c levels, and diabetes duration. The adjusted OR of dietary carotene between extreme quartiles for DR was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.39–1.09, P for trend = .220). The adjusted OR of dietary retinol between extreme quartiles for DR was 1.05 (95% CI, 0.62–1.80, P for trend = .279). There was no statistical significance in proliferative DR and Vision-threatening Dr Our study did not find evidence that the risk of DR is correlated with dietary vitamin A levels. Dietary intake parameters of vitamin A, carotene, and retinol might be insufficient to determine the association between the risk of Dr To demonstrate an association for the risk of DR, the use of serum information and not dietary information is needed.