| dc.description.abstract | Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus that can lead to severe vision impairment and blindness. Retinol Binding Protein-4 (RBP4) has been linked to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, glucose intolerance, and diabetes mellitus. Increased level of RBP4 contributes to the endothelial inflammatory process which causes the progression of vascular damage. This study investigates the relationship between serum RBP4 levels and the incidence of diabetic retinopathy in Prof. Dr. Chairuddin Panusunan Lubis Hospital, Universitas Sumatera Utara, and its network hospitals.
Method: A case-control study design was employed, involving participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, divided into groups with and without diabetic retinopathy. Venous blood samples were taken from participants in each group, to assess serum RBP4 levels. All data were then processed and analyzed using SPSS version 19.
Results: Of the 47 samples obtained, the majority were found to be female (70,8%) and all diabetic retinopathy patients had suffered from type 2 diabetes for >5 years. Results indicated that patients with diabetic retinopathy had significantly higher serum RBP4 levels compared to those without (60.59 ± 27.26 μg/mL vs. 39.87 ± 18.08 μg/mL, p = 0.004).
Conclusions: The findings suggest that serum RBP4 may serve as a useful biomarker for predicting diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes patients, highlighting the need for further research to explore its role in disease progression and management. | en_US |
