High Serum Cystatin C Linked to Increased Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy: Study
A new study published in the journal of Frontiers in Medicine showed that patients with type 2 diabetes who have higher blood Cystatin C (CysC) levels are more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Serum cystatin C is especially important in the research of diabetes complications since it has drawn attention as a sensitive biomarker of renal function and systemic microvascular damage. There is increasing evidence that high cystatin C levels are significantly associated with the onset or progression of diabetic retinopathy in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Since DR results from damage to the retinal microvasculature caused by persistent hyperglycemia, biomarkers reflecting modest endothelial dysfunction may provide early indicators of risk. When compared to more conventional measures like serum creatinine, cystatin C seems to better capture these early pathogenic alterations.
Investigating this connection is crucial because prompt screening, preventative measures, and more individualized glycemic and renal treatment are made possible by early detection of people at higher risk of DR. Clarifying common pathways of microvascular damage in diabetes and improving prognostic evaluations in the treatment of type 2 diabetes may also benefit from better understanding of the relationship between cystatin C and DR severity. Thus, this study looked into the relationship between blood CysC levels and diabetic retinopathy.
818 people with type 2 diabetes were included in this cross-sectional study, 227 of whom had DR and 591 of whom did not. Every participant had a thorough clinical assessment that included fundus exams, blood glucose, lipid, and renal function indicators. The relationship between CysC and DR was evaluated using logistic regression analysis.
DR patients had considerably greater serum CysC levels than controls (p<0.001). Additionally, CysC had a negative correlation with albumin (r = -0.222), HDL-C (r = -0.107), TC (r = -0.090), and fasting glucose (r = -0.080) (all p < 0.05). The third CysC tertile had a higher frequency of DR than the first tertile (OR = 2.14, 95%CI: 1.20–3.82, p = 0.01). The patients who had diabetes for more than ten years or who were not old showed a stronger correlation.
Overall, increased serum DR and CysC levels are strongly correlated in T2DM individuals with normal renal function. Among people without renal illness, CysC may be useful in identifying high-risk individuals with DR. Large-scale research should identify the possible mechanism of the connection between CysC and DR and look into the possibility of stopping the onset and development of the disease using CysC-targeting medication.
Source:
Gui, Q., Jiang, K., & Xu, Y. (2025). Relationship between serum cystatin C and diabetic retinopathy in T2DM patients. Frontiers in Medicine, 12(1725451), 1725451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1725451
