Corneal Viscoelasticity Differences Between Diabetic and Nondiabetic Glaucomatous Patients

PURPOSETo investigate corneal viscoelasticity in primary open-angle glaucoma patients with and without diabetes mellitus, and to correlate corneal hysteresis (CH) with central corneal thickness (CCT). METHODSIn this cross-sectional study, 44 primary open-angle glaucoma patients [19 with diabetes (34 eyes) and 25 without diabetes (40 eyes)] underwent a complete ophthalmic examination. Data collected by masked investigators included CH and CCT using the Ocular Response Analyzer. The mean of 3 measurements was considered for each test. We analyzed the difference between the mean CH in both groups using a general linear model. Partial correlation coefficient between CH and CCT was also calculated. RESULTSMean±SD age in diabetic and nondiabetic groups was 67.1±8.7 and 65.9±15.1, respectively (P=0.77). There was no significant difference regarding mean CCT between diabetic (531.7±31.3 μm) and nondiabetic (546.6±37.3 μm) groups (P=0.21). Patients with diabetes presented significantly higher CH values than patients without diabetes (9.1±1.9 mm Hg vs. 7.8±1.7 mm Hg, P=0.04). There was a significant and positive correlation between CH and CCT for all patients (r=0.407, P