Purpose: To compare the anterior segment parameters of patients with juvenile diabetes mellitus (DM) and healthy children by optical biometry.
Methods: This prospective controlled clinical trial included 47 patients with juvenile type 1 DM and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy children. Central corneal thickness (CCT), aqueous depth (AD), lens thickness (LT), axial length, pupillary diameter (PD), K1 and K2 keratometry, and white to white distance (WTW) measurements were performed with optical biometry. The glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of the DM cases were obtained. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t test, χ2 test, and Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: The mean age of the 20 boys and 27 girls with DM was 10.91 ± 3.24 years and the mean age of the 29 healthy boys and 21 girls was 11.61 ± 3.6 years (age p = 0.42; sex p = 0.09). The mean LT was thicker (p = 0.001), the mean AD was lower (p = 0.001), and the mean PD was smaller (p = 0.001) in the DM cases and all were statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the groups for AU, CCT, WTW, or K1 and K2 (p = 0.12; p = 0.83; p = 0.54; p = 0.97; p = 0.21, respectively). We also found a significant negative correlation between HbA1c levels and PD (r = -0.37 p = 0.01).
Conclusions: Juvenile DM may affect anterior segment parameters and cause thicker LT, smaller PD, and lower AD. These effects may change the refractive status and should be considered during the examination of these children.