Another study in Italy,162 among 931 individuals free from any chronic complications at baseline, found that the risk of incident retinopathy, was negatively associated with the highest C-peptide tertile, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, smoking, the time since diagnosis, insulin treatment, the HbA1c, systolic BP, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride values (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.23–0.47). This evidence concerns the gene INS and retinal disorder.