Abstract
Purpose: :
To study the relation between gestational diabetes mellitus and retinal vessels diameter in pregnancy
Methods: :
Included were 23 patients with gestational diabetes had been confirmed by Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) and 28 normal pregnant women matched for age, gestational age and blood pressure. History of smoking, other systemic and ocular disease and previous ocular procedure include retinal photocoagulation considered as exclusion criteria’s. The diameter of the retinal arterioles was measured with a specific computer assisted program and retinal vascular caliber was summarized as central retinal artery (CRAE) and vein (CRVE) equivalents in all eyes.
Results: :
Out of 23 recruited patients with gestational diabetes, 10 cases were diagnosed as mild to moderate diabetic retinopathy and 13 patients without retinopathy.No significant difference was found in mean (±SD) of CRAE (143.8±12.1 μm vs. 141.0±14.9 μm, P = 0.08) in patients with impaired GTT compared to normal pregnant women but increase in CRVE (224.5±18.9 μm vs. 207±19.4 μm, P = 0.039) in diabetic group was significant. Non-parametric test in diabetic group was shown small reduction with borderline statistical significance in arteriolar diameter in patients with retinopathy in compare with diabetic but retinopathy-free patients (P=0.05).No significant correlation was found between HbA1c levels and retinal vessels diameter. (P=0.1 for CRAE and P=0.4 for CRVE). Both CRAE and CRVE were correlated between eyes (P < .001).
Conclusions: :
Dilation of the retinal venular caliber and reduction of arteriolar diameter in patients with gestational diabetes reflecting microvascular changes and may contribute to the pathogenesis of disease. Predictive value of retinal vessels diameter in progression of retinopathy in gestational diabetes mellitus and relation with birth parameters is under investigation.
Keywords: diabetic retinopathy • imaging/image analysis: clinical