Purpose: To determine the relationship of serum HbA1c and fasting serum lipids with central macular thickness (CMT) in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 130 Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending the Ophthalmology OPD of Government Medical College, Kota. Patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation including optical coherence tomography (OCT) for central macular thickness. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting lipid profiles were recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS-20 software; p < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Mean age of study subjects was 56.9 ± 8.3 years. Mean HbA1c was 8.28 ± 2.17%, total cholesterol 188.46 ± 60.64 mg/dl, triglycerides 184.07 ± 77.41 mg/dl, LDL 114.95 ± 43.29 mg/dl, and HDL 46.6 ± 9.84 mg/dl. Mean CMT in right and left eyes was 260.41 ± 101.66 ?m and 255.69 ± 88.89 ?m, respectively. CMT was significantly higher in patients with uncontrolled HbA1c (?6.5%) compared to those with controlled HbA1c (<6.5%) (p=0.02). LDL cholesterol also showed a positive correlation with CMT, though not statistically significant.
Conclusion: Elevated HbA1c levels were significantly associated with increased central macular thickness in Type 2 diabetic patients, suggesting that strict glycemic control may prevent early macular changes before the onset of diabetic macular edema.
International Journal of Medical Ophthalmology
