A risk score development for diabetic retinopathy screening in Isfahan-Iran

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop a simple risk score as screening tool for retinopathy in type II diabetic patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out recruiting 3734 patients with type II diabetes in an outpatient clinic in Isfahan Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center (IEMRC), Iran. The logistic regression was used as a model to predict diabetic retinopathy. The cut-off value for the risk score was determined using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve procedure. RESULTS: According to final models, being male, having lower body mass index (BMI), being older, longer duration of diabetes and higher HbA1c were correlated with increased risk of diabetic retinopathy. Area under the Curve (ROC) was 0.704 (95% CI: 0.685-0.723). A value ≥ 52.5 had the optimum sensitivity (60%) and specificity (69%) for determining diabetic retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that risk factors for retinopathy were sex, BMI, age, duration of diabetes and HbA1c levels. In conclusion, applying developed retinopathy risk score is a practical way to identify patients who are at high risk for developing diabetic retinopathy for an early treatment.