Objective To explore the correlation between atherogenic index of plasma(AIP) and diabetic retinopathy(DR).

Methods A total of 445 patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized in the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University were selected as study objects. According to DR diagnosis and staging criteria, the patients were divided into non-DR group (NDR group, n=188), nonproliferative group (NPDR group, n=134) and proliferative group (PDR group, n=123). The general information of patients and main biochemical indicators were collected. The general data and main biochemical indicators of patients in each group were compared, and AIP was calculated. The risk factors of DR were analyzed by Logistic regression, the correlations of AIP with risk factors were analyzed by Spearman correlation, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of AIP in screening DR.

Results Age in the PDR group was older, duration of diabetes in the PDR group was longer, the level of fasting blood glucose(FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG) and AIP in the PDR group were significantly higher, and the level of estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) were lower than those in the NDR group and NPDR group(P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, LDL-C, eGFR and AIP were independent influencing factors for DR in T2DM patients. The area under the curve of AIP in predicting DR in T2DM patients was 0.745 (95%CI, 0.700 to 0.791). The threshold of AIP for DR screening was 0.186, the sensitivity was 74.3%, and the specificity was 64.4%.

Conclusion AIP may be a reliable new indicator for DR screening in T2DM patients.