Comparison of amplitude of accommodation in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus

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.