Retinal vascular caliber in Turkish adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common result of diabetes mellitus (DM). Alterations in retinal vascular caliber may be early finding of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this study is to demonstrate retinal vascular caliber changes in Turkish adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). This prospective and cross-sectional study included 108 eyes of the T1D adolescents and 75 eyes of the age-sex matched control group. Fundus images of the both groups were taken with fundus camera system (FA; Visucam500; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) and were analyzed with IVAN which is a semi-automated system used to measure the width of retinal vessels using a digital retinal image (Nicole J. Ferrier, College of Engineering, Fundus Photography Reading Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA). Central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) and artery-vein ratio (AVR) were compared between groups. Both groups were comparable in baseline characteristics (p>0.05). The mean CRAE value was higher in T1D group (179.03±29.58 ? in T1D group and 166.64±15.76 ? in control group, p<0.001). The mean AVR value was higher in T1D group, too (0.97±0.46 in T1D and 0.84±0.19 in control group, p=0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in CRVE value between groups. CRAE was found to be higher in T1D patients. This arteriolar dilation may be the early finding of diabetic retinopathy.