Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing
exponentially due to increasing obesity and reduced physical
activity levels. Diabetes affects all structures of the eye; the
optics and biometry of the eye are also affected in diabetic
patients.
PURPOSE: To compare the amplitude of accommodation (AA) in
type 1 and 2 diabetic patients with the age-matched controls.
METHODS: One hundred individuals under the age of 40
years were examined. There were 22 subjects with type 1, 43
with type 2 diabetes and 35 age-matched controls. The AA was
measured using the subjective push-up with the RAF rule (Royal
Air Force rule). Descriptive statistics and regression analysis
were used to analyse the data.
RESULTS: The mean AA was 3.92±0.93, 4.93±1.05 and 7.26±1.30
dioptres (D) in type 1, type 2 and healthy subjects, respectively.
There was a significant difference between the mean AA of all diabetic patients and the control subjects, p≤0.01. The t-test
showed that there was significant difference between the AA
measurements in type 1 and type 2, p≤0.01.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that diabetes
mellitus type 1 may have a major impact on the lens biometry
and the AA measurements. The differences may indicate a
fundamental difference in pathogenesis of reduced AA.
