A Review of Homocysteine as a Diagnostic Tool for Diabetic Retinopathy

Özet

The aim of this systematic review is to identify plasma homocysteine (Hcy) as a screening and diagnostic indi- cator for assessing diabetic retinopathy (DR) risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Following PRISMA guidelines, data was gathered from publications between 2000−2019 from the Springer, JAMA, Lancet, and PubMed databases, as well as from diabetes-specific journals. Observational, experimental, and multi-ethnic studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews were included and studies that did not measure plasma Hcy, or included only patients with type 1 diabetes were excluded. The collected results were pooled and analysed for this systematic review. The majority of studies suggested an affirmative relationship exists between hy- perhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and DR, whereas some studies showed only limited clinical significance. HHcy is considered a pivotal risk factor for macular edema progression in patients with DR. Serum Hcy levels could be used to assess microvascular risksforthe development and progression of DR.