Relationship between visual function and changes in optic nerve head parameters in open angle glaucoma patients with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Purpose : To examine the relationship between baseline visual function and changes in optic nerve head (ONH) morphology in open angle glaucoma (OAG) patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods : 85 patients with OAG (16 with DM, 69 without DM) were assessed for visual function by 24-2 Swedish interactive threshold algorithm visual field exam using the Humphrey visual field machine and for ONH morphology by optical coherence tomography (OCT) every 6 months for a 4-year period. Pearson correlations were used to test for associations between measurements, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results : In OAG patients baseline mean deviation (MD) was -3.71 (95% CI: -5.56, -1.85) and -3.34 (-4.35, -2.33), pattern standard deviation (PSD) was 4.29 (2.51, 6.06) and 3.96 (3.01, 4.92) and advanced glaucoma intervention study (AGIS) score was 1.87 (0.79, 3.60) and 1.40 (0.85, 2.10) in patients with and without DM, respectively. In OAG patients with DM, changes in disk area and rim area were positively and significantly correlated to baseline MD (disk area: r=0.60, p=0.0121; rim area: r=0.66, p=0.0039) and negatively and significantly correlated to baseline PSD (disk area: r=-0.64, p=0.0059; rim area: r=-0.74, p=0.0006) and AGIS score (disk area: r=-0.61, p=0.0098; rim area: r=-0.63, p=0.0079), leading to a significant difference compared to patients without DM (disk area: MD p=0.0055, PSD p=0.0086, AGIS score p=0.0023; rim area: MD p=0.0056, PSD p=0.0011, AGIS score p=0.0139).

Conclusions : In OAG patients with DM, baseline visual function may be indicative of changes in ONH morphology after 4 years.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.