The HD-OCT Study May Be Useful in Searching for Markers of Preclinical Stage of Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

The aim of the study was to analyze the thickness of individual retinal layers in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in comparison to the control group and in relation to markers of diabetes metabolic control. The study group consisted of 111 patients with an average of 6-years of T1D duration. The control group included 36 gender- and age-matched individuals. In all patients optical coherence tomography (OCT) study was performed using HD-OCT Cirrus 5000 with evaluation of optic nerve head (ONH) parameters, thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) with its quadrants, macular full-thickness parameters, ganglion cells with inner plexus layer (GCIPL) and choroidal thickness (CT). Lower disc area value was observed in the study group as compared to controls ( = 0.0215). Negative correlations were found both between age at examination and rim area (R = -0.28, = 0.0007) and between superior RNFL thickness and duration of diabetes (R = -0.20, = 0.0336). Positive correlation between center thickness and SD for average glycemia (R = 0.30, = 0.0071) was noted. Temporal CT correlated positively with age at examination (R = 0.21, = 0.0127). The selected parameters the HD-OCT study may in the future serve as potential markers of preclinical phase of DR in patients with T1D.