Determination of the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in diabetic patients with no manifested diabetic retinopathy / 复旦学报（医学版）

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate whether there is a thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in the eyes of diabetic patients and to analyze the relationship between RNFL thickness and several diabetic risk factors. Methods Forty-two type 2 diabetes mellitus patients aged 47-70 years were enrolled in this study. All the subjects underwent ophthalmologic examinations and glaucoma diagnosis (GDx) nerve fiber analyzer scanning with two different modes: variable cornea compensation (VCC) and enhanced cornea compensation(ECC).The GDx parameters included the temporal-superior-nasal-inferior-temporal average (TSNITave), superior and inferior averages, the TSNIT standard deviation and the nerve fiber indicator (NFI). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was applied to study the diagnostic ability of indices. The association between risk factors and the NFI was studied. Results The area under the curve for the ROC of the NFI was the largest for both the ECC and VCC modes. There was a significant relationship between age and RNFL thinning. However, there was no significant association between diabetic duration and fasting blood glucose with RNFL thinning. The influence of age on NFI was greater in diabetic patients than in control subjects. Conclusions Age has an important influence on the NFI of diabetic patients. Diabetic patients with normal ocular fundus may have RNFL thinning.