Digoxin Does Not Accelerate Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy
- Thomas W Gardner, MD,
- Ronald Klein, MD, MPH,
- Scot E Moss, MA,
- Frederick L Ferris III, MD and
- Nancy A Remaley, MS
- Department of Ophthalmology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine Madison, Wisconsin
- National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Thomas W. Gardner, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA 17033.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that digoxin, an inhibitor of Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity, accelerates the progression of diabetic retinopathy.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We compared the incidence and risk of retinopathy in 120 digoxin-taking vs. 867 non-digoxin-taking diabetic participants in the Wisconsin Epidemiologie Study of Diabetic Retinopathy (WESDR) and in 117 digoxin-taking vs. 1,883 non-digoxin-taking diabetic subjects in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS). In both studies, retinopathy was detected by grading stereoscopic color photographs using the modified Airlie House classification scheme, and a two-step difference in baseline retinopathy grade was considered significant.
RESULTS After controlling for other risk factors, we found no statistically significant association with either 4-year incidence of retinopathy (WESDR) or progression of retinopathy (WESDR and ETDRS) in patients taking digoxin at baseline compared with those not taking digoxin.
CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that digoxin therapy does not adversely affect the course of diabetic retinopathy.
- Received May 4, 1994.
- Revision received September 22, 1994.
- Accepted September 22, 1994.
- Copyright © 1995 by the American Diabetes Association
