Statins, Fibrates Lower Diabetic Retinopathy Risks in Diabetes
The use of lipid-lowering medication with fibrates, including fenofibrate (Lipidil, Abbott), and statins reduces not only the incidence of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes but also the need for treatment in those who already have the condition, indicates a real-world Japanese study, according to a report in Medscape.
Ryo Kawasaki, MD, MPH, PhD, Department of Vision Informatics (Topcon), Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed health claims data on almost 85,000 patients with type 2 diabetes.
The results, published in the October issue of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, show that the incidence of diabetic retinopathy was reduced by around 23% with the use of lipid-lowering medication, and fibrates and statins were similarly effective.