Is myopia accelerated in type 1 diabetes mellitus children? Analyses from the ocular parameters

This study compares the ocular biometry with or without myopia in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and healthy children in China to analyse the difference between myopia in T1DM and healthy children.

A case-control study was conducted at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University. The children were divided into four subgroups depending on myopia or non-myopia, T1DM or non-DM. The participants were evaluated for anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), axial length (AL), average keratometry (K) and lens power (P). Furthermore, cycloplegic refraction was performed and the spherical equivalent (SE) was acquired.

One hundred and ten patients with T1DM and 102 healthy subjects were included in this study. In the age-sex adjusted analysis, the myopia T1DM subgroup showed thicker LT (p = 0.001), larger P (p = 0.003) and similar ACD, AL, K and SE (all p > 0.05) compared to the myopia control subgroup. Additionally, the myopia T1DM subgroup showed longer AL (p < 0.001) and similar ACD, LT, K and P (all p > 0.05) as the non-myopia T1DM subgroup. In the multivariate linear regression, for T1DM patients, eyes with longer AL, shallower ACD, and larger P were associated with a decrease in SE (p < 0.001, p = 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). Meanwhile, for healthy controls, eyes with longer AL and larger P were associated with a decrease in SE (all p < 0.001).

The ACD and LT of myopia T1DM children remained unchanged compared to non-myopia T1DM children. This means that the lens in the former group could not lose power as compensation for AL growth, thus providing evidence for the acceleration of myopia in T1DM children.