Risk factors for diabetic retinopathy

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Non-modifiable risk factors

Duration of diabetes

It is of note that it is the time since diagnosis independently of diabetes control which is the most important risk factor for developing some form of retinopathy,2 2,366 diabetic patients participated in the famous Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy which found a strong link between duration of diabetes and presentation of retinopathy (Figure 1): 'the prevalence of retinopathy varied from 2 per cent in persons with less than two years of diabetes to 98 per cent in persons with 15 or more years of disease the severity of diabetic retinopathy was also related to duration of diabetes.'3