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Risk of diabetic retinopathy, DME may be associated with axial length
In patients with diabetes, a longer axial length was associated with a lower risk of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, according to a study.
The clinic-based study examined 630 eyes of 367 patients; 306 eyes had hyperopia, 188 eyes had emmetropia, 104 eyes had mild myopia, and 32 eyes had moderate myopia or worse. The mean axial length was 23.4 ± 1.4 mm.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) was found in 208 eyes, and diabetic macular edema (DME) was found in 148 eyes.
A longer axial length was associated with lower odds of having any DR (P < .001 per mm increase in axial length). The association was found in mild cases (P = .006), moderate cases (P = .002) and severe cases (P = .01).
Eyes with a longer axial length were also associated with a lower risk of DME (P < .001). The association was found in mild cases (P < .001) and moderate cases (P = .002) but not severe cases.
“Coupled with the lack of a correlation of [corneal curvature] and hyperopia with DR, our results suggest that refractive myopia is likely a surrogate for longer [axial length] that influences DR risk,” the study authors said.