Do macular OCT‐A measures correlate with functional outcomes in diabetic patients?

Purpose To investigate the association between anatomic changes, as measured optical coherence tomography‐angiography (OCT‐A), and functional visual outcomes in diabetic patients. Methods Participants in this cross‐sectional study were 60 patients (60 eyes) with diabetes mellitus and 20 normal subjects (20 eyes). Patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examination, including staging of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Patients were divided in 3 groups: (i) diabetes without retinopathy (noDR); (ii) background retinopathy (NPDR) and (iii) proliferative retinopathy (PDR). Best‐corrected distance visual acuity (BCVA) was measured using ETDRS charts, while contrast sensitivity was evaluated with the Pelli‐Robson charts. Patients underwent OCT‐A to measure the area of FAZ (mm2) and the vessel density (%) at the macular and paramacular area. Results BCVA was 83.7 ± 5.3 for the healthy subjects and did not differ significantly compared to diabetic group (78.8 ± 10.6, p = 0.281). There was a statistically significant difference (p