Abstract
Purpose :
Recent studies have shown favorable associations between fish consumption and sight threatening diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Western populations. We tested the hypothesis that individuals with higher fish intake will have less severe stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a clinical sample of Asian patients with type 2 diabetes
Methods :
This is a clinical cross-sectional study of 389 Asian adults with diabetes. Fish consumption was evaluated using the Singapore-validated food frequency questionnaires, which included frequency estimates of fish intake. DR severity was assessed from two-field fundus images and based on the modified Airlie House Classification: none (n = 156), minimal (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] scale score, 20; n = 28), mild-moderate (ETDRS scale score, 35-47; n = 126), and severe DR (ETDRS scale score, >53; n = 79). Multivariable multinomial logistic model was used to investigate the association of fish intake with DR severity, adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, years after diagnosis of diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure, total to HDL cholesterol ratio, and HbA1c.
Results :
Among the participants (mean [SD] age, 56.9 [7.4] years; 30.9% women; 76.9% Chinese), the median (interquartile range) for fish intake was 3.0 (3.0) times per week. In the adjusted models, dietary fish intake was inversely associated with severe DR (odds ratio [OR], 0.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.10 to 0.68; P = 0.006), comparing highest vs lowest quartile of intake, and a significant trend for increasing frequency of fish consumption (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.93 per 1-unit increase; P = 0.002). No statistically significant relationships existed for the minimal or mild-moderate DR groups.
Conclusions :
Higher intake of fish was associated with a decreased likelihood of having severe DR in Asian adults with type 2 diabetes. Our results concur with findings from Western population that fish consumption may protect against severe forms of DR.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.