Final multivariable Poisson regression models for total number of DFEs over the follow-up period
| Variable | All patients | Mild | Severe | ||||
| Adjusted IRR | p Value | Adjusted IRR | p Value | Adjusted IRR | p Value | ||
| Severity (vs mild*) | Moderate | 1.30 (0.96, 1.76) | <0.0001 | ||||
| Severe | 2.77 (2.36, 3.24) | ||||||
| Gender (male vs female*) | 1.10 (0.99, 1.23) | 0.085 | † | † | |||
| Ethnicity/race (vs African-American*) | Asian | 1.22 (0.91, 1.63) | 0.028 | 0.86 (0.54, 1.38) | 0.0052 | 1.55 (0.97, 2.47) | 0.14 |
| Caucasian | 0.84 (0.69, 1.03) | 0.76 (0.58, 0.99) | 0.98 (0.68, 1.43) | ||||
| Latino/Hispanic | 1.07 (0.83, 1.37) | 1.30 (0.97, 1.74) | 0.95 (0.58, 1.55) | ||||
| Age (≥65 vs <65*) | † | 1.11 (0.96, 1.29) | 0.15 | 0.81 (0.63, 1.05) | 0.10 | ||
| BCVA in worse eye (visual impairment vs normal*) | 1.37 (1.19, 1.57) | <0.0001 | 1.54 (1.31, 1.81) | <0.0001 | † | ||
| HbA1C documented (yes vs no*) | 1.65 (1.47, 1.86) | <0.0001 | 1.71 (1.48, 1.97) | <0.0001 | 1.54 (1.21, 1.97) | 0.0006 | |
| Blood sugar documented (yes vs no*) | 1.65 (1.43, 1.89) | <0.0001 | 1.62 (1.36, 1.93) | <0.0001 | 1.55 (1.20, 2.00) | 0.0006 | |
| Wears glasses (yes vs no*) | 1.12 (0.99, 1.26) | 0.072 | † | † | |||
| Current smoking status (smoker vs no*) | 0.72 (0.61, 0.85) | <0.0001 | 0.76 0.63, 0.91) | 0.0020 | 0.70 (0.49, 1.01) | 0.049 | |
| Medication (Insulin) (yes vs no*) | 1.10 (0.97, 1.26) | 0.15 | 1.14 (0.99, 1.33) | 0.076 | † | ||
| Non-insulin diabetic medication (yes vs no*) | 0.87 (0.75, 1.01) | 0.069 | † | † | |||
| Medications (mental health) (yes vs no*) | 0.82 (0.67, 1.01) | 0.051 | † | 0.60 (0.34, 1.08) | 0.070 | ||
| Cataract (yes vs no*) | 1.12 (0.97, 1.30) | 0.13 | 1.16 (0.98, 1.38) | 0.090 | † | ||
| Glaucoma (yes vs no*) | † | 1.23 (0.99, 1.53) | 0.067 | † | |||
| Non-diabetic retinal disease (yes vs no*) | 1.71 (1.49, 1.96) | <0.0001 | 2.27 (1.89, 2.73) | <0.0001 | 1.38 (1.09, 1.74) | 0.0089 | |
| Other ocular comorbidity (yes vs no*) | 1.27 (1.13, 1.44) | <0.0001 | 1.28 (1.11, 1.47) | 0.0006 | † | ||
| Neighborhood deprivation index (vs lowest quartile) | Moderately low | 1.17 (0.97, 1.41) | 0.032 | 1.08 (0.86, 1.36) | 0.015 | 1.17 (0.81, 1.70) | 0.20 |
| Moderately high | 0.81 (0.59, 1.12) | 0.96 (0.68, 1.38) | 0.70 (0.36, 1.35) | ||||
| High | 0.95 (0.68, 1.33) | 0.54 (0.31, 0.93) | 1.17 (0.67, 2.05) | ||||
| Driving distance (vs 0–5 miles) | 5–25 miles | 1.01 (0.87, 1.17) | 0.15 | † | 1.10 (0.80, 1.51) | 0.10 | |
| ≥25 miles | 0.83 (0.64, 1.07) | 0.76 (0.47, 1.22) | |||||
*Reference group.
†Removed from final model via backwards elimination (p>0.2).
Bold indicates p values that reach significance.
BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; DFE, dilated fundus exam; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; IRR, incidence rate ratio.