Abstract
Purpose:
To determine changes of biomechanical parameters of cornea in the patients of diabetes mellitus (DM) and whether these parameters are related to the level of HbA1c.
Methods:
One randomly chosen eyes of 50 patients with DM and 80 healthy subjects were examined. Patients with DM were divided into Group 1 (well controlled DM) with HbA1c≦7% (n=25) and Group 2 (poorly controlled DM) with HbA1c>7% (n=25). Corneal biomechanical parameters using ocular response analyzer (ORA) and central corneal thickness (CCT) using ultrasound pachymetry were measured. The corneal biomechanical parameters and CCT comparatively analyzed (diabetic eyes vs normal eyes, Group 1 vs Group 2).
Results:
Results: Mean CH, CRF and CCT were 9.82±1.23, 9.65±1.46, 542.84±31.82 in healthy subjects, 10.49±1.62, 10.66±1.30, 559.72±31.98 in diabetic patients. CH, CRF and CCT were significantly higher in diabetic group compared to healthy subjects (p=0.009, p<0.001, p=0.005). Mean HbA1c was 6.67±0.24% in diabetic group 1, 10.14±3.43% in diabetic group 2. All parameters were not significantly different between diabetic group 1 and diabetic group 2.
Conclusions:
In diabetic patients, CH, CRF and CCT are significantly different compared with those of the healthy subjects. The biomechanical properties of the cornea are not altered depending on previous 2-3 months glucose control (HbA1c level).
Keywords: 479 cornea: clinical science