Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema and Relationship Between Choroidal Thickness and Treatment and Diabetic Complications

Abstract

Purpose: Firstly, to compare the choroidal thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT) between diabetic macular edema (DME) patients who received intravitreal bevacizumab, ranibizumab and dexamethasone implant injection and a age-matched healthy group. Secondly, to investigate the relationship between diabetic choroidopathy and diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, HbA1c levels and metabolic conditions in these patients undergoing intravitreal injection therapy. Materials and Methods: Total 72 (52 males, 20 females) DME patients and 60 (44 males, 16 females) healthy control participants were included in this retrospective, cross-sectional, and comparative study. Results: The baseline choroidal thickness (ChT) in patients with DME was thinner than in the control group. When the relationship between changes in central macular thickness and mean macular thickness values and age, gender, disease duration, mean arterial pressure, body mass index (BMI), LDL level, and HbA1c values were examined, no significant relationship was observed (p>0.05 for all). There was a significant inverse correlation between BMI and initial average ChT (p:0.027). There was also a positive correlation between LDL levels and choroidal thickness (0.007). In the comparison between ChTs according to the presence of microalbuminuria, last subfoveal ChT was observed to be thinner in presence of microalbuminuria (p: 0.038). In the comparison between ChTs of patients with and without neuropathy, the average last nasal ChT was higher in patients with diabetic neuropathy (p: 0.025). There was no significant relationship between HbA1c levels and choroid thicknesses. Conclusions: The choroidal thinning in this study may be a sign of diabetic choroidopathy-induced choroid ischemia.