Epidemiology
13 of 17 studies link elevated Lp(a) to diabetic retinopathy risk in type 2 diabetes, a systematic review of 4,688 patients (Diab Vasc Dis Res 2023)
Original title: Lipoprotein (a) as a predictor of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review
This systematic review searched PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar for observational, case-control and prospective cohort studies through August 2022 examining Lp(a) and diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes, identifying 17 eligible studies (4,688 patients). Thirteen of the 17 studies found Lp(a) to be a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy, three found no relationship, and one reported mixed results. The findings suggest high serum Lp(a) in type 2 diabetes is associated with diabetic retinopathy risk, though the authors call for larger cohort studies to validate this before it can inform clinical practice.
Original abstract
Background: Lipoprotein a (LP(a)), an LDL-like lipoprotein, known as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, has a controversial association with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes-the current systematic review aimed to critically assess the association between LP(a) and diabetic retinopathy.
Methods: A systematic review of relevant studies was conducted after a thorough search in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar electronic databases. We used English observational, case-control, and prospective cohort studies published up to August 2022, including type 2 diabetic patients as the population, diabetic retinopathy as the outcome, and LP(a) as the intervention.
Result: 17 relevant studies, including 4688 patients with diabetes, were included in this systematic review. While in 13 studies, Lipoprotein(a) was recognized as a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy, only three studies reported no evidence of a relationship between the two. Also, another study showed a mixed outcome of the relationship between LP(a) and diabetic retinopathy.
Conclusion: High serum lipoprotein(a) in patients with type 2 diabetes is considered a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy. However, further large-scaled cohort studies are still required to validate this finding.
Summary written by lp-a.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 18 August 2026. Methods.