One thousand and five diabetic patients were evaluated ophthalmologically and classified into one of four groups according to the retinopathy status of the worst of their eyes. The presence of various factors and their influence on retinopathy status were evaluated. Race, duration of diabetes, type of treatment, the presence of hypertension, a high serum cholesterol level, smoking and the presence of systemic complications of diabetes were found to have a statistically important influence on retinopathy status. Sex and type of diabetes had no such influence.