Danish Zafar, Abdus Salam Arif, Iftikhar Ahmed.
Correlation between Central Corneal Thickness & Diabetes in Pakistani Population.
Ophthalmol Update Jan ;12(1):7-9.

Objective: To evaluate the role of blood glucose levels on central corneal thickness (CCT) in diabetic and non-diabetic population. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Ayub Teaching Hospital from July 2011 to Dec 2011. 93 cases of diabetes and 90 of non-diabetic subjects were randomly selected from the patients attending ophthalmology outpatient department. There were 43 males and 50 females in diabetic group. The CCT was recorded with optical pachymeter (Optikon). Average of 3 consecutive recordings of CCT was taken for analyses. Blood samples were collected simultaneously when CCT measurement were taken. Blood glucose levels were measured by using glucose oxidase and peroxidase method. Results: Average CCT in diabetic population was 529.8 micron and in non--diabetic patients was 524.7 microns. Blood glucose levels ranged between 90mg% to 460mg% in diabetic population with a mean value of 214mg%, while in non-diabetics it ranged between 80mg% to 160mg% with a mean of 134mg%. CCT in diabetic patients was not significantly different from that in non-diabetic patients. The variation of CCT at different levels of blood glucose levels averaged 4 microns. There was no significant correlation between blood glucose levels and the CCT values (p= 0.062). Discussion: Our study reveals that diabetic patients had cornea thicker than non-diabetics by 5.1 microns, though it did not attain statistical significance. CCT levels were higher in uncontrolled diabetic population. There was no significant change in CCT levels on short term fluctuations in blood glucose levels. CCT levels correlate with long term control of blood glucose levels and thus requires to be correlated with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c levels) which indicates control over last 3 months period. Racial variation influences CCT. This implies that every population will have a unique CCT reading. The implications of this difference in average CCT are significant in terms of the correct determination of elevated IOP in our population. Glaucoma patients in our population will need to maintain a lower level of IOP. Conclusion: CCT values in diabetic population is not significantly higher than in non-diabetic population. Blood glucose levels do not significantly affect CCT values.

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