Resumen
Objetivo: Analizar el valor pronóstico de la retinopatía diabética identificada por fundoscopia en la predicción de eventos cardiovasculares mayores en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Métodos: Esta es una revisión bibliográfica integradora realizada utilizando las bases de datos PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL) y CAPES Periodicals, utilizando los descriptores: “Retinopatía diabética”, “Diabetes Mellitus, Tipo 2” y “Enfermedades cardiovasculares”, y truncando la búsqueda a: (Retinopatía diabética) Y (Diabetes Mellitus, Tipo 2) Y (Enfermedades cardiovasculares). Se encontraron 10,085 artículos, filtrados según los criterios de inclusión (idiomas portugués, inglés y español; período de 2021 a 2026; artículos completos) y criterios de exclusión (artículos duplicados, resúmenes, artículos fuera de alcance). Resultados: La retinopatía diabética está fuertemente asociada con un mayor riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular sistémica, funcionando como un marcador temprano de daño vascular. La progresión de la enfermedad refleja un proceso integrado de inflamación, disfunción endotelial y alteraciones metabólicas que afectan simultáneamente la micro y la macrovasculatura. Además, la fundoscopia, combinada con biomarcadores y nuevos modelos predictivos, se presenta como una herramienta prometedora para la estratificación del riesgo y la intervención temprana. Conclusión: La retinopatía diabética es un importante marcador precoz del riesgo cardiovascular sistémico. Su identificación debe orientar un enfoque clínico integral e intensivo para reducir los resultados adversos.
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