Peripheral blood HIF-1α levels: a study on their predictive ability for early-stage diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the correlation between the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the peripheral blood of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and early-stage diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to evaluate its potential as a predictor of early DR.

METHODS

From November 2021 to December 2023, 70 patients who underwent fundus photography at Zhangzhou Second Hospital were recruited. Based on the results, patients were categorized into a T2D group comprising 25 patients and a DR group comprising 45 patients. In addition, 18 healthy individuals who underwent routine physical examinations during the same period were included as a control group. Serum levels of the HIF-1α protein were measured in all three groups.

RESULTS

The results indicated that patients in the early-stage DR group had significantly higher levels of HIF-1α, albumin (Alb), Ca and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) compared to the T2D group (P < 0.05). In addition, patients in the DR group exhibited higher levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) than the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence rates of DR in groups A, B, C and D were 18.18, 31.82, 59.09 and 95.45%, respectively, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between HIF-1α and age, disease duration (years), systolic blood pressure, Cr, FPG and HbA1c, with a strong positive correlation between HIF-1α and HbA1c (P < 0.05) optimal cutoff value of 2.3855 ng/mL.

CONCLUSION

Increased levels of HIF-1α in peripheral blood are closely linked to the development of DR, suggesting that HIF-1α may act as a potential biomarker for the early detection and prediction of DR risk.