Alcohol consumption in diabetics linked to decline in visual acuity

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New research shows that patients with diabetes mellitus who drink moderate amounts of alcohol are not at an increased risk for developing retinopathy, but are at an increased risk for losing visual acuity.

"The relationship with the decline in visual acuity was continuous through the distribution of alcohol consumption," report Joline Beulens of University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

In this study, the group analyzed data on 1239 individuals aged 55 to 81 years with Type 2 diabetes previously enrolled in the AdRem study, a sub-study of the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial.
Alcohol consumption was self-reported, with moderate drinking defined as one to 14 drinks per week and heavy drinking defined as more than 14 drinks weekly.

After a mean follow-up of 5.5 years, 182 individuals were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, while 640 had retinal vascular lesions, and 693 had declines in visual acuity.

No type of alcoholic beverage was worse than any other, although the magnitude of association was slightly increased with beer compared with wine,

Posted in: Alcoholic beverage, Diabetes mellitus, Diabetes mellitus type 2, Diabetic retinopathy, Research