The Indian type 2 diabetes risk score also helps identify those at risk of macrovasvular disease and neuropathy (CURES-77).

AIMS To see whether the diabetic individuals identified by the Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) also have a higher prevalence of diabetes related complications. METHODS Type 2 diabetic subjects were selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study in south India. Four field stereo retinal colour photography was done and diabetic retinopathy [DR] was classified according to Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grading system. Coronary artery disease was diagnosed using Minnesota coding of 12-lead electrocardiograms. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) was diagnosed if vibratory perception threshold [VPT] of the right great toe measured by biothesiometry was > or =20. The criterion for diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) was an ankle-brachial index < 0.9. Macroalbuminuria was diagnosed if urinary albumin excretion was > or =300 microg/mg creatinine. A total of 1476 individuals who had information on all test parameters were included for analysis. RESULTS Subjects with IDRS score > or =60 had significantly higher prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) [9.2% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.043], DPN [29.2% vs. 8.8%, p < 0.001] and PVD [4.8% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.038] compared to subjects with IDRS score <60. However, the prevalence of DR and macroalbuminuria did not differ between the two IDRS subgroups. Age explained much of the observed differences in prevalence of CAD, PVD and DPN between the two IDRS subgroups. CONCLUSIONS This study further extends the clinical usefulness of IDRS to predicting diabetic complications like CAD, PVD and DPN as well.