VEGF rose from 65.26 ± 20.8 pg/mL in SCG to 118.4 ± 30.16 pg/mL in the T2DM + DR group (p = 2.71 × 10−8), while GM-CSF increased from 50.58 ± 9.5 pg/mL in controls to 91.32 ± 11.16 pg/mL (p = 2.27 × 10−7). Here, CSF2 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.