Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. May 15, 2022; 13(5): 408-416
Published online May 15, 2022. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i5.408
Changes and significance of retinal blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indexes in patients with diabetic retinopathy
Xiao-Li Wang, Fang-Rong Cai, Yun-Xia Gao, Jian Zhang, Ming Zhang
Xiao-Li Wang, Fang-Rong Cai, Jian Zhang, Department of Ophthalmology, Jianyang People’s Hospital of Sichuan Province, Jianyang 641400, Sichuan Province, China
Yun-Xia Gao, Ming Zhang, Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Wang XL and Zhang M designed this retrospective study; Wang XL and Cai FR wrote the manuscript; Wang XL, Cai FR, Gao YX and Zhang J were responsible for sorting the data; and all authors approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jianyang People’s Hospital of Sichuan Province.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ming Zhang, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxiang Lane, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China. mingzhangdoctor@163.com
Received: December 13, 2021
Peer-review started: December 13, 2021
First decision: January 12, 2022
Revised: January 28, 2022
Accepted: April 28, 2022
Article in press: April 28, 2022
Published online: May 15, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic complication that can severely affect the patients’ vision, eventually leading to blindness. DR is the most important manifestation of diabetic micro-vasculopathy and is mainly related to the course of diabetes and the degree of blood glucose control, while the age of diabetes onset, sex, and type of diabetes have little influence on it.

AIM

To explore the changes in blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indices of retinal vessels in patients with DR.

METHODS

In total, 94 patients (94 eyes) with DR (DR group) diagnosed at Jianyang people’s Hospital between March 2019 and June 2020, and 100 volunteers (100 eyes) (control group) without eye diseases, were included in this study. Arterial and venous blood oxygen saturation, retinal arteriovenous vessel diameter, and serum oxidative stress indicators in the two groups were compared. Based on the stage of the disease, the DR group was divided into the simple DR and proliferative DR groups for stratified analysis.

RESULTS

The oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels in the DR group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The retinal vessel diameters between the DR and control groups were not significantly different. The serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxydehydroguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in the DR group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in the DR group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels in the patients with proliferative DR was significantly higher than that in the patients with simple DR (P < 0.05). The retinal vessel diameter in patients with proliferative DR was not significantly different from that of patients with simple DR (P > 0.05). Serum MDA and 8-OHdG levels in patients with proliferative DR were significantly higher than those in patients with simple DR (P < 0.05). Serum SOD and GSH levels in patients with proliferative DR were significantly lower than those in patients with simple DR (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Increased blood oxygen saturation of retinal arteries and veins and increased oxidative stress damage in patients with DR may be associated with decreased retinal capillary permeability and arterial oxygen dispersion, possibly reflecting the patient’s condition.

Keywords: Diabetes, Retinopathy, Diabetic retinopathy, Blood oxygen saturation, Oxidative stress

Core Tip: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes. Studies have shown that retinal blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress are closely associated with hypoxic-ischemic injury of retinal tissues caused by DR. Although DR treatment has improved in recent years, the long-term prognosis for late DR is not optimistic, and effective methods are needed to prevent DR from deteriorating in the later stages. Therefore, determining the incidence of DR and establishing its early diagnosis are considered clinically important. Our study monitored and analyzed retinal blood vessels, reflecting changes in serum biological indicators of blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress levels in patients with DR, to determine the patient’s condition, thus improving the existing diagnosis and treatment methods and developing new methods for the treatment of serious complications of diabetes and subsequently ameliorating the cure rate of patients.