Incidence of diabetic retinopathy in anti-tnf treated rheumatic disease patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of anti-TNF (biological) therapies on the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 50 diabetic patients with rheumatic diseases (group 1) was performed. An age-, sex-, and HbA1c-matched control group (group 2) was formed from a pool of diabetic patients who underwent regular eye examinations. The presence or absence of diabetic retinopathy was also assessed. Comorbidities such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, and hyperlipidemia were also evaluated as possible confounding factors.

Results: Hundred eyes of 50 patients were evaluated in each group. Only three patients in group 1 had non-proliferative retinopathy. The median duration of rheumatic disease was 9 years, whereas that of diabetes was 11 years. The mean duration of anti-TNF therapy was 4 years. In the control group of diabetes-only patients, 13 patients developed some form of newly diagnosed diabetic retinopathy during the last five years. The calculated retinopathy occurrence between the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). In this study, the incidence rate ratio for patients receiving anti-TNF treatment was calculated as 0.4 in the study.

Conclusion: TNF inhibitors, with their anti-inflammatory effects, positively impact diabetic complications by reducing the incidence of retinopathy. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate retinopathy development after anti-TNF therapy.