PURPOSE The aim of this study was to analyze choroidal structures in healthy subjects and patients with/without diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS This was a retrospective observation case control study. Four hundred and two eyes of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), and 124 age-matched eyes of healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. DM patients were divided into 3 groups: presence of central-involved (CI) DME (n = 81) and nonCI-DME/non-DME (n = 321), based on OCT findings. Central choroidal thickness (CCT) and total choroidal, luminal, and stromal areas were determined using EDI-OCT and a binarization method, respectively. The luminal area expressed as a ratio of the total choroidal area was defined as the L/C ratio. RESULTS DM eyes showed a significantly lower L/C ratio than control eyes, whereas there was no significant difference in CCT or total choroidal, luminal, or stromal areas. There was no significant difference between CI-DME and non-DME groups in HbA1c, blood pressure, dyslipidemia, or renal function. CCT and total choroidal, luminal, and stromal areas were significantly greater in the CI-DME group than non-DME group (each P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that CCT was thickened in the presence of DME, associated with both increased luminal and stromal areas, which might be related to the pathology of DME.

中文翻译：

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糖尿病性黄斑水肿中脉络膜血管结构的改变。

目的本研究的目的是分析健康受试者和患有/不患有糖尿病性黄斑水肿（DME）的患者的脉络膜结构。方法这是一项回顾性观察病例对照研究。本研究纳入了420例糖尿病（DM）患者的眼睛和124例年龄相匹配的健康受试者的眼睛。DM患者根据OCT结果分为三组：中枢性（CI）DME（n = 81）和nonCI-DME / non-DME（n = 321）。使用EDI-OCT和二值化方法分别确定中央脉络膜厚度（CCT）和总脉络膜，腔和基质区域。将以总脉络膜面积之比表示的腔面积定义为L / C比。结果DM眼睛的L / C比值明显低于对照组，而CCT或脉络膜，管腔或基质的总面积无明显差异。CI-DME组和非DME组在HbA1c，血压，血脂异常或肾功能方面无显着差异。CI-DME组的CCT和总脉络膜，腔和基质区域均显着大于非DME组（每个P <0.05）。结论这些结果表明，在存在DME的情况下，CCT增厚，与腔和基质区域的增加有关，这可能与DME的病理学有关。CI-DME组的皮肤和基质区域明显大于非DME组（每个P <0.05）。结论这些结果表明，在存在DME的情况下，CCT增厚，与腔和基质区域的增加有关，这可能与DME的病理学有关。CI-DME组的皮肤和基质区域明显大于非DME组（每个P <0.05）。结论这些结果表明，在存在DME的情况下，CCT增厚，与腔和基质区域的增加有关，这可能与DME的病理学有关。