CORRELATION BETWEEN HBA1C LEVEL AND THICKNESS OF BOTH MACULA AND CHOROID IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS

Nouby, Salma; Sayd, Mohamed; Sharaf, Mohamed; Tohamy, Dalia

doi:10.21608/ejco.2024.404128

CORRELATION BETWEEN HBA1C LEVEL AND THICKNESS OF BOTH MACULA AND CHOROID IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE II DIABETES MELLITUS

Document Type : Original articles: include clinical trials, interventional research, Basic researches and clinically relevant laboratory investigations

Authors

¹ Ophthalmology dept., MUST Univ., 6th October, Cairo, Egypt

² Ophthalmology dept., Assiut Univ., Assiut, Egypt.

10.21608/ejco.2024.404128

Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of visual impairment and the primary cause of blindness in individuals of working age. Swept source OCT enhances the ability to vis-ualize the retina and choroid in a single image. The average plasma glucose concentration over extended periods and the long-term management of hyperglycemia are determined by measuring glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Aim: To test the relationship between HbA1c levels and both central macular thickness and subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with type II DM using SS-OCT. Methods: This comparative, non-interventional cross-sectional study comprised 90 eyes of 49 adult patients, assigned to three groups based on their HbA1c. Group 1 had inadequate glycemic control (HbA1c ˃7%), Group 2 had good glycemic control (HbA1c ≤7%), and Group 3 was the control group. Complete ophthalmic examination and OCT measurements were conducted to determine the thickness of the retina and choroidal tissue. Results: The mean central foveal thickness and the mean subfoveal CT were both statistically significant across all study groups. The mean HbA1c and subfoveal CT in all groups exhibited a statistically significant negative correlation; diabetics exhibited a thinner thickness than the control group. HbA1c and central macular thickness did not result in any significant correlations. Conclusion: Significant choroidal thinning is observed in diabetic patients, particularly those in the uncontrolled group (group 1). Additional research with a larger sample size is necessary to establish the correlation between CRT and CT and HbA1c and to determine the optimal cutoff value of HbA1c that impacts the choroid.

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