Association between controlling nutritional status score and diabetic retinopathy: Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Objective This study aimed to examine the association between controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score and diabetic retinopathy (DR) risk, as well as investigate the impact of CONUT score on mortality risk among DR patients. Methods This retrospective study included 5,256 patients with diabetes from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. These participants were classified into two groups: the DR group ( n = 641) and the non-DR group ( n = 4,615). We used weighted univariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the correlation of CONUT score and DR risk. Weighted univariate and multivariate Cox models were adopted to explore the association of CONUT score with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality in patients with DR. Results 305 patients diagnosed with DR had died by the end of the follow-up period, among whom 111 individuals died due to CVD. After adjusting all potential confounding factors, there was an association between CONUT score and DR development in patients with diabetes [odd ratio (OR) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–1.33]. Additionally, CONUT score was found to be associated with all-cause mortality of patients with DR [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.01–1.22, P = 0.041]. However, there was no significant difference in the CONUT score and CVD-related mortality of patients with DR. Conclusions CONUT score may be a valuable tool for assessing the risk of developing DR, and predicting prognosis in patients with DR. However, as this was a cross-sectional study, we cannot infer the causality of CONUT score and DR risk.