Comparison of the central corneal thickness among diabetic and non-diabetic patients

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the central corneal thickness (CCT) findings between diabetics and non-diabetics, in patients attending the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which 140 patients were recruited. 70 diabetics and 70 non-diabetics participants were recruited. All patients had an ocular examination, pachymeter measurement and the data were compared between the two groups and analysed with the use of IBM statistical package for the social sciences 25 software. Results: The mean age of the diabetic participants was 60.60 years (+12.4 standard deviation [SD]), and the non-diabetic group was 59.87 years (+13.2 SD). There were more females (72.9%) than males (27.1%). There was no significant difference in the CCT measurement between diabetics (520.74 + 48.8 µm) and non-diabetic (524.62 + 28.7 µm) participants. There was also no statistically significant correlation between the duration of diabetes, glycaemic control (using glycated haemoglobin) and CCT measurement. However, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements were noticed to be significantly higher in people with diabetes than in non-diabetics. Conclusion: There was no difference in CCT measurements between diabetics and non-diabetics; however, people with diabetes have higher IOP. Therefore, IOP should be part of routine eye screening done for diabetic patients.