Association between diabetes and keratoconus: a case-control study

• Published in: Cornea Vol. 33; no. 12; p. 1271
• Main Authors: Naderan, Mohammad, Naderan, Morteza, Rezagholizadeh, Farzaneh, Zolfaghari, Masoome, Pahlevani, Rozhin, Rajabi, Mohammad Taher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - diagnosis; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - physiopathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - diagnosis; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - physiopathology; Female; Humans; Keratoconus - physiopathology; Keratoconus - prevention & control; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1536-4798
• DOI: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000000282

To compare the prevalence and association of diabetes mellitus (DM) between keratoconus (KC) and non-KC populations and evaluate whether DM has the potential to protect the cornea against developing keratectasia. A retrospective case-control study was conducted on 1383 KC patients and 1383 non-KC controls. The presence or absence of either type 1 or type 2 DM was investigated in both groups. Statistical significance and odds ratios were calculated. The prevalence of DM in KC patients and the control group was 0.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed a strong protective effect of DM against KC (odds ratio = 0.350, P = 0.001). This effect was only seen in type 2 DM patients (odds ratio = 0.079, P < 0.001) and not in patients with type 1 DM (odds ratio = 3.013, P = 0.073). The results of this study suggest that DM provides a statistically significant protective effect against the development of KC. This investigation showed that the biomechanical effects of cross-linking were also reflected in epidemiological results.