Serum Antithyroglobulin Antibody Levels Are Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy among Euthyroid Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Hospital-Based, Retrospective Study

Background. Previous studies have revealed that the variation of thyroid indicators may be associated with the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among euthyroid type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. But the specific conclusions are currently inconsistent. Methods. This is a hospital-based retrospective survey. We recruited 1,145 euthyroid T2D patients and checked the thyroid function and fundus photographs. The modified Airlie House classification system was used to categorize the stages of DR. The association between thyroid indicators and different stages of DR was analyzed. Results. We divided free triiodothyronine (FT3) into tertiles and found that the prevalence of mild nonproliferative DR (NPDR) was significantly higher in T2, compared with T1 (32.0% vs. 25.2%, p