Loss of Temporal Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fibers in Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes Without Diabetic Retinopathy: The Maastricht Study

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to assess thinning of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in prediabetes or type 2 diabetes without diabetic retinopathy (DM2 w/o DRP) compared with that in individuals with normal glucose metabolism (NGM). METHODS. We measured sectoral and mean RNFL thickness in a 3.45-mm-diameter circular scan centered on the optic nerve head, using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in 1172 participants from The Maastricht Study (a population-based cohort of individuals 59 6 8 years of age, 47% men, 699 NGM, 186 with prediabetes, and 287 with DM2 w/o DRP). Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the association between RNFL thickness and glucose metabolism status, adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS. In individuals with prediabetes, the temporal RNFL was thinner than that in individuals with NGM after adjustment (beta = -2.28 mu m [95% confidence interval [CI], -4.44 to -0.13], P = 0.04), whereas in individuals with DM2 w/o DRP, the temporal inferior (beta = -3.66 mu m [95% CI, -6.46 to -0.85], P = 0.01), the temporal superior (beta = -2.99 mu m [95% CI, -5.95 to -0.02], P = 0.05), the temporal (beta = -2.73 mu m [95% CI, -4.62 to -0.84], P