AIM: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy(DR) in northern Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed between May 2011 and April 2012. A total of 1100 patients(male/female, 483/617) were included in this study. DR was defined following the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study(ETDRS) severity scale. All included patients accepted a comprehensive ophthalmic examination including retinal photographs. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios(ORs) and 95% confidence interval(CI) after adjusting for age and gender.RESULTS: Retinopathy was present in 307 patients with a prevalence of 27.9%. In univariate logistic analysis,presence of DR was associated with longer duration of diabetes(OR, 5.70; 95% CI, 2.91-12.56), higher concentration of fasting blood glucose(OR, 12.94; 95%CI, 2.40-67.71), higher level of glycosylated hemoglobin Hb A1c(OR, 5.50; 95% CI, 3.78-11.97) and insulin treatment(OR, 6.99; 95% CI, 1.39-35.12). The lifestyle of patients with T2DM including smoking, alcohol consumption and regular exercise seemed not associated with the development of DR.CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that fasting serum glucose concentration, Hb A1 c level, duration of diabetes and insulin treatment are potential risk factors for DR in northern Chinese patients with T2DM, while the lifestyle of included patients seems not associated with DR. AIM: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in northern Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed between May 2011 and April 2012. A total of 1100 patients DR was defined following the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) severity scale. All included parents accepted a comprehensive ophthalmic examination including retinal photographs. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjusting for age and gender .RESULTS: Retinopathy was present in 307 patients with a prevalence of 27.9%. In univariate logistic analysis, presence of DR was associated with longer duration of diabetes (OR, 5.70; 95% CI, 2.91-12.56), higher concentration of fasting blood glucose (OR, 12.94; 95% CI, 2.40-67.71), higher level of glycosylated hemoglobin Hb A1c 3.78-11. 97) and insulin treatment (OR, 6.99; 95% CI, 1.39-35.12). The lifestyle of patients with T2DM including smoking, alcohol consumption and regular exercise seemed not associated with the development of DR.CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that fasting serum glucose concentration, Hb A1 c level, duration of diabetes and insulin treatment are potential risk factors for DR in northern Chinese patients with T2DM, while the lifestyle of included patients seems not associated with DR.