A Comparative Study of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness among Diabetes and Non-Diabetics

Purpose: This prospective observational study compares patients with Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) to age-matched non-diabetics (healthy controls) in order to map the differences in retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. Methods: This study included 160 eyes divided in to two groups. Group A- included 80 eyes with Type II diabetics, Group B – included 80 eyes of non-diabetics (Healthy controls). Using the optical coherence tomography scanning, RNFL thickness was measured in each of the four quadrants. Results: For the entire optic disc as well as each quadrant, diabetics RNFL thickness was lower than that of non-diabetics.This difference was statistically significant in all 4 quadrants (P=0.007). Conclusion: We draw the conclusion that, in comparison to persons without diabetes, RNFL thickness is lower in diabetic patients. It is necessary to take diabetic retinal thinning into account before thinking about retinal thinning due to other neurodegenerative conditions.