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Jie Zhang, MPH; Gerald McGwin Jr, MS, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2007;125(8):1096-1099.

Objective  To investigate whether hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) prevent the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods  We conducted a nested case-control study among patients at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama. Within a study population of male diabetic patients (n = 6441), we identified incident cases of diabetic retinopathy diagnosed between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2001 (n = 114). Control subjects were selected using incidence density sampling and were matched for diabetes duration. Information regarding filled statin prescriptions was obtained for cases and controls.

Results  Cases and controls did not differ regarding overall statin use in crude analysis (odds ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.59) and in multivariate analyses adjusted for age, race, and coexisting medical conditions (odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.67).

Conclusion  The results of this study do not support an association between statins and diabetic retinopathy.

Author Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health (Ms Zhang and Dr McGwin), and Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine (Dr McGwin), University of Alabama at Birmingham.