Diabetic retinopathy is associated with diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and myocardial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and dilated cardiomyopathy (dCMP). METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from 89 patients with dCMP (46 with type 2 diabetes and 43 without diabetes) and no evidence of coronary artery disease. Echocardiographic parameters and laboratory data, including lipid profiles and fundus findings, were obtained from medical records. A left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40% was considered impaired systolic function, while an E/E′ ratio greater than 15 was considered elevated left ventricular (LV) filling pressure. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics show that LVEF was not significantly different between patients with and without diabetes or between diabetic patients with and without DR. Among the diastolic function parameters, patients with DR exhibited higher E/E′ ratios (left ventricular filling pressures) than patients without DR (23.75 ± 13.37 vs 11.71 ± 3.50, P = 0.022). Logistic regression analysis revealed that statin use lowered the risk of impaired systolic dysfunction in all patients (odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.12–0.92, P = 0.034) and in patients with diabetes (OR 0.273, 95% CI 0.08–0.99, P = 0.049), while the presence of DR was associated with a higher risk of elevated LV filling filling pressure in patients with diabetes (OR 18.00, 95% CI 1.50–216.62, P = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, DR was associated with elevated LV filling pressure in patients with dCMP. DR may not only represent microvascular long-term complications in patients with diabetes but may also be associated with more advanced form of diastolic dysfunction among diabetic patients with cardiomyopathy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12933-017-0566-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.