Plasma lipids and lipoproteins in retinopathy of type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients.

The most important factor associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy is the duration of the diabetes. Studies to examine the relationship of diabetic retinopathy to plasma lipids and lipoproteins have produced conflicting results. We examined the association of background and proliferative retinopathy development with plasma lipid and lipoprotein changes in 78 patients with Type I diabetes. We found significant increases in plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, LDL phospholipid, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol only in patients with proliferative retinopathy. The changes in plasma triglycerides, HDL phospholipid, and apolipoproteins A and B, were not significant. Furthermore, the duration of diabetes and patient age were correlated with both background and proliferative retinopathy.