Correlation between the urinary protein content and the macular retinal thickness in cases with type II diabetes

Objective To investigate the association between the urinary protein content and the macular retinal thickness in cases with type II diabetes. Methods Retrospective case series study. 52 cases with type II diabetes from September 2014 to September 2015 were selected and their clinical information was collected. These cases were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy(III or IV phase)in the Department of Ophthalmology and Endocrinology. The result of body examination was recorded and all the patients were examined documenting spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SDOCT)and color fundus photography. Some of them were also examined by fluorescence fundus angiography. According to 24 hour urinary protein content, samples were divided into microalbuminuria group(≤300mg/d)and macroalbuminuria group(>300mg/d). Independent-Samples T test and Chisquare test were used to make comparisons between pairs of groups. Correlations between variables were investigated by Spearman rho correlation test. Significant variables from Spearman' s correlation analyses were further analyzed by linear regression. When working out the correlation between the urinary protein content and the macular retinal thickness, the further research was done by scatter diagram and regression model. Results The relationship was linear positive correlation between urinary protein content and the macular retinal thickness in cases with type II diabetes. The images of OCT in macular edema include sponge-like retinal swelling, macular cystoid edema, serous retinal detachment and mixture of the above forms. Conclusions Urinary protein content is an independent risk factor of diabetic macular edema. Key words: Diabetic retinopathy; Urinary protein; Macular edema; Macular retinal thickness