Macular thickness in diabetic eyes without clinical macular edema

Abstract

PurposeTo evaluate macular thickness of individuals with moderate diabetic retinopathy (DR) without macular edema (DME).MethodsRetinal thickness was calculated by automated segmentation of spectral domain‐optical coherence tomography scans of patients with moderate DR without DME and compared with an age‐matched population of non‐diabetic individuals. Mean values and multiple linear regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between retinal layers thickness and age, sex, diabetes type and concentration of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c).ResultsA total of 66 eyes were studied, 34 eyes with moderate DR without DME or previous treatment and 32 eyes from non‐diabetic individuals. The mean retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in the superior parafoveal area of patients with DR was 29.88 μm vs. 23.18 μm in the non‐diabetic group (p = 0.01). The mean inner nuclear layer thickness in the central fovea area in the DR group was 28.26 μm vs. 22.87 μm in the non‐diabetic control group (p = 0.01). There was a significant linear correlation (R = 0.353, p = 0.04) between HbA1c and the inner nuclear layer thickness in the superior parafoveal area.ConclusionsAccording to our findings, DR patients showed an increase of macular thickness compared with the non‐diabetic control group in the superior parafoveal and central foveal area. Increased HbA1c levels may play a role in the increased macular thickness.