Abstract

To compare the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Filipino and Caucasian Americans in two clinic populations.Retrospective cross-sectional epidemiologic study of two convenience samples.Five hundred twelve Filipino and 600 Caucasian patients aged 40 years or older examined by two community-based comprehensive ophthalmology clinics during a one-year period.The prevalence of self-reported type 2 diabetes mellitus among Filipino (F) and Caucasian Americans (C) was 40.6% and 24.8%, respectively (P<.001). In the subpopulation with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=375: 208 Filipino; 149 Caucasian), there was a statistically insignificant higher prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among Filipino diabetics compared to Caucasians (F vs C: all forms of diabetic retinopathy, 24.5% vs 16.8%, P=.08; non-proliferative retinopathy, 17.3% vs 12.8%, P=.24; proliferative retinopathy, 7.2% vs. 4.0%, P=.21). In multivariate analyses of the diabetic subpopulation, Filipino ethnicity was not a significant predictor of diabetic retinopathy.Filipino Americans may have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy than Caucasian Americans. Among those with type 2 diabetes, however, Filipino Americans were not found to be more likely to show manifestations of diabetic retinopathy than Caucasian Americans.

View details for Web of Science ID 000310559400011

View details for PubMedID 23140077