Association between glycemic control and intraocular pressure in patients with Type II diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is becoming an epidemic in our country and worldwide. It is an important risk factor for raised intraocular pressure (IOP). Raised IOP is associated with a potentially blinding condition known as glaucoma. Identification of factors, which increase the risk of glaucoma, is a mainstay in the early detection and prevention of blindness due to the disease. Aim and Objectives: To investigate the association between glycemic control and IOP in patients of Type II diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: The study included 180 participants. Group I included 80 age- and sexmatched normal healthy participants constituting the control group. Group II consisted of 100 diabetic patients. Group II was further subdivided into 3 subgroups according to glycemic control: Group IIA consisted of 36 patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) levels 8% indicating poor glycemic control. The patients were investigated for fasting blood glucose levels, postprandial blood glucose levels, and HbA1C. All participants underwent routine ocular examination including IOP measurement by Goldmann applanation tonometer. Results: The mean IOP in fasting state was statistically significantly lower than IOP in postprandial state (P < 0.005). The mean IOP of patients of Group II was higher than Group I (P < 0.005). The mean IOP of group IIA ,IIB and IIC were 16.9±0.43 mm of Hg,17.6±0.62 mm of Hg and 18.62±0.22 mm of Hg respectively.. Patients with poor glycemic control had a higher IOP. The difference of IOP was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.005). Conclusion: The diabetic patients are prone to higher IOP, and especially, the patients with poor glycemic control were more prone to raised IOP. Diabetic patients should be regularly screened for IOP so that burden ocular morbidity due to glaucoma can be reduced.