Abstract
Purpose::
A previous Israeli health maintenance organization study found an association between HSV eye disease and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this relationship in a larger US population.
Methods::
We performed a retrospective population-based case-control study of 9 communities consisting of 1,042,351 members of the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan of Northern California. From this population, 172 patients with HSV eye disease were identified in a one-year period through computerized analysis of outpatient codes and confirmed with review of medical records. Two age- and time-matched controls groups were chosen: (1) a community control group was randomly chosen from Kaiser members living in the same community as the matched cases and (2) a clinic control group was chosen randomly from members seen in the same ophthalmology clinic for non-HSV ocular conditions within a 2 week period of the matched cases. The electronic medical records of the cases and controls were reviewed for the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.
Results::
Diabetes mellitus was present in 7.0% of patients with HSV eye disease compared to 9.3% of community controls and 23.0% of clinic controls (p=0.45 and p=0.0001 respectively). Diabetic retinopathy was present in 34% of the diabetics with HSV eye disease compared to 50% of diabetics in the community control group and 67% of diabetics in the clinic control group (p=0.50 and p=0.17 respectively). Proliferative diabetic retinopathy was not present in diabetics with HSV eye disease and diabetics in the community control group; 15% of the clinic controls had proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Conclusions::
No association between HSV eye disease and diabetes mellitus in this case control study was found. The community controls and the clinic controls were more likely to have diabetes than patients with HSV eye disease (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6 to 3.0 and OR 3.9, 95% CI 2.0 to 7.8 respectively). This study did not confirm the previously reported association between diabetes and HSV eye disease.
Keywords: herpes simplex virus • diabetes • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment