Effects of glycemic control on refraction in diabetic patients

AIM: To evaluate the effects of glycemic control on refraction in diabetic patients. METHODS: Twenty newly diagnosed diabetic patients were included in this study. The random blood glucose, HbA1c levels, fasting C-peptide and postprandial 2h C-peptide were measured before treatment. The patients with random blood glucose higher than 12.0mmol/L and HbA1c level higher than 10.0% were selected. Refraction, intraocular pressure, radius of the anterior corneal curvature, depth of the anterior chamber, lens thickness, vitreous length, and axial length were measured on admission and at the end of week 1, 2, 3 and 4 during glycemic control. RESULTS: A transient hyperopic change occurred in all the patients receiving glycemic control. The maximum hyperopic change was 1.60D (range 0.50±3.20D). Recovery of the previous refraction occurred between two and four weeks after insulin treatment. There was a positive correlation between the maximum hyperopic changes and the HbA1c levels on admission (r=0.84, P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between the maximum hyperopic changes and the daily rate of blood glucose reduction over the first 7 days of the treatment (r=0.53, P<0.05). During transient hyperopia, no significant changes were observed in the intraocular pressure, radius of the anterior corneal curvature, depth of the anterior chamber, lens thickness, vitreous length and axial length. CONCLUSION: Transient hyperopic changes occur after glycemic control in diabetic patients with severe hyperglycemia. The degrees of transient hyperopia are highly dependent on HbA1c levels before treatment and the rate of reduction of the blood glucose level.