Factores que conducen al desarrollo de la retinopatia en pacientes con diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by an elevation of blood glucose levels due to an abnormal secretion of the hormone insulin. At present, the prevalence of diabetes is high in Latin America, thus affecting the economy of the health system. The treatment is based on controlling glycemia to prevent complications, especially those that affect vision, such as retinopathy, which is one of the main causes of non-recoverable visual loss. Objective: To determine the main factors that intervene in the development of visual complications, especially diabetic retinopathy, in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: By reviewing current scientific articles obtained from data platforms such as: PubMed, Cochrane, Medscape, UpToDate and ScienceDirect in the period of time from 2015 to 2018; including: clinical practice protocols, clinical practice guidelines, consensus documents, systemic reviews and analytical studies. Results: The main factors are: the time of the evolution of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemias and now pregnant women are within this group of factors. Conclusions: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus develop the disease in 5 years compared to those suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus. Controls of lipid levels delay the progression of decreased vision in diabetic retinopathy. The blood pressure figure does not contribute to the delay of the progression to retinopathy. The progression to diabetic retinopathy increases during pregnancy.