Özet:

Aim: To determine ocular surface changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with and without diabetic retinopathy, to investigate the relationship between them and to compare the findings with healthy controls. Method: The study included 49 patients with diabetic retinopathy (group 1) and 49 patients with diabetes mellitus without diabetic retinopathy (group 2). The results were compared with healthy controls (group 3) with similar age and gender distribution. Results: Schirmer's test result of patients in group 1 was 9.33 ± 3.6 mm, tear breakup time was 7.27±2.24 s, OSDI score was 34.11±6.7 and 23 (46.9%) patients had corneal staining. The Schirmer's test result of patients in group 2 was 13.06 ± 3.15 mm, tear breakup time was 10.6 ± 1.95 s, OSDI score was 19.08 ± 5.5 and 8 (16.3%) patients had corneal staining. The Schirmer's test result of the patients in group 3 was 21.5±4.88 mm, tear breakup time was 13.1±1.27 s, and OSDI score was 6.21±1.3. When the values of the patients in all three groups were compared, Schirmer's test, tear breakup times and OSDI scores were found to be statistically significant (p<0.001 for all parameters). Conclusion: According to our study, dry eye disease and diabetic retinopathy were associated. Ocular involvement due to diabetes mellitus may not only include retinal pathologies but also affect anterior segment structures. Therefore, ocular surface examination can be considered an essential component of the evaluation of diabetic eye disease.