Glycemic Control and Retinal Microvascular Changes

Glycemic Control and Retinal Microvascular Changes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Without Clinical Retinopathy

The goal of this prospective, observational study is to compare in the association of glycemic control and retinal microvascular changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

The main question it aims to answer are:

• Do degenerative changes in retinal microvasculature or nerves depend on glycemic control even before diabetic retinopathy is detected?

Participants will receive an annual routine comprehensive examination including ultra-widefield fundus photography, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), and swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Inclusion Criteria:

• The study included 30-70-year-old patients with T2DM without known DR at baseline who underwent regular screening for DR at the department of ophthalmology.
• Who underwent regular checkups for DR between January 2019 and August 2022 at Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital.
• The controls included patients without DM who presented for regular ophthalmic examination.

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients with a history of retinal or choroidal diseases (i.e., age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, uveitis, retinal detachment, and central serous chorioretinopathy), glaucoma, or optic neuropathy
• patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and dementia.