Peripheral Neuropathy and Tear Film Dysfunction in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Purpose. To compare tear film metrics in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and healthy controls and investigate the association between peripheral neuropathy and ocular surface quality. Methods. Dry eye symptoms were quantified in 53 patients with type 1 DM and 40 age-matched controls. Ocu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stuti L. Misra, Dipika V. Patel, Charles N. J. McGhee, Monika Pradhan, Dean Kilfoyle, Geoffrey D. Braatvedt, Jennifer P. Craig
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
Series:Journal of Diabetes Research
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/848659
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Summary:Purpose. To compare tear film metrics in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and healthy controls and investigate the association between peripheral neuropathy and ocular surface quality. Methods. Dry eye symptoms were quantified in 53 patients with type 1 DM and 40 age-matched controls. Ocular examination included tear film lipid layer thickness grading, tear film stability and quantity measurement, and retinal photography. DM individuals additionally underwent a detailed neuropathy assessment. Results. Neither mean age nor dry eye symptom scores differed significantly between the DM and control groups (P=0.12 and P=0.33, resp.). Tear lipid thickness (P=0.02), stability (P<0.0001), and quantity (P=0.01) were significantly lower in the DM group. Corneal sensitivity was also reduced in the DM group (P<0.001) and tear film stability was inversely associated with total neuropathy score (r=-0.29, P=0.03). Conclusion. The DM group exhibited significantly reduced tear film stability, secretion, and lipid layer quality relative to the age-matched control group. The negative correlation between tear film parameters and total neuropathy score suggests that ocular surface abnormalities occur in parallel with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
ISSN:2314-6745
2314-6753