title: Choroidal thickness alterations in diabetic nephropathy patients with early or no diabetic retinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess changes in choroidal thickness (CT) in diabetes patients with and without diabetic nephropathy using enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five type 2 diabetes patients with a diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DNP) in nephrology department and 35 type 2 diabetes patients without nephropathy (non-DNP) were included in our prospective study consecutively. The control group comprised 34 healthy individuals. CT measurements were recorded under the fovea and at 1500 µm from the foveal center in the nasal and temporal sides. The study parameters also included age, refractive error, axial length, intraocular pressure, HbA1c, glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria amount.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subfoveal, temporal and nasal choroidal thickness was noted to be thinner in patients with DNP compared with non-DNP and normal subjects (p < 0.05). However, CT measurements did not show any difference between the healthy and non-DNP group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CT decreases significantly in diabetic patients when diabetic nephropathy accompanies diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Derince Training and Research Hospital, Derince, Kocaeli, Turkey. ckocasarac@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kocasarac
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Derince Training and Research Hospital, Derince, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yigit
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Derince Training and Research Hospital, Derince, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sengul
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Dunyagoz Hospital, Adapazarı, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yildirim Beyazit
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Sakalar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058452:Axial Length, Eye / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications*; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000473:pathology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000473:pathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods
keywords: Choroidal thickness; Diabetic nephropathy; Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography