Key result
Indigenous Australians with diabetes show ~19% lower diabetic retinopathy prevalence vs non-Indigenous peers.
Absolute Event Rate: 23.4% vs 28.9%
p-value: p=<0.001
The purpose of this review is to compare the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Australian DR prevalence data from 6 Indigenous studies (n = 2865) and 5 non-Indigenous studies (n = 9801) conducted between 1985 and 2013 were included for analysis. Estimated prevalence of any DR among Indigenous Australians with DM was 23.4% compared with 28.9% for non-Indigenous Australians (χ(2) = 26.9, P < 0.001). In studies performed after 1990, a significantly higher rate of diabetic macular edema was found in Indigenous compared with non-Indigenous Australians with DM (7.6% versus 4.9%, χ(2) = 6.67, P = 0.01). Although there are limitations in comparing these studies, one explanation for the observed data could be a model in which Indigenous Australians are relatively resistant to early stage DR, but with a subset progressing to sight threatening DR due to individual genetic and environmental susceptibility factors coupled with poor glycemic control.
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Kaidonis et al. (2014) conducted a review in Diabetic retinopathy in Diabetes Mellitus (n=12,666). Indigenous Australian descent vs. Non-Indigenous Australian descent was evaluated on Estimated prevalence of any diabetic retinopathy (p=<0.001). Indigenous Australians with diabetes had a significantly lower estimated prevalence of any diabetic retinopathy compared to non-Indigenous Australians (23.4% vs 28.9%; P<0.001).
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