Accommodative Ability in Younger-Onset Diabetes

• The relationships among accommodative ability, younger-onset diabetes, and other factors are examined in this report. The study population consists of younger-onset diabetic persons less than 45 years of age who participated in the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy. In 656 of 859 such persons, near point of accommodation was measured twice for each eye using the best correction for distance visual acuity and a Prince rule. Mean amplitude of accommodation in the diabetic population decreased with age and was less than that of a nondiabetic group and of previously published reports. Other factors associated with decreased accommodation in the diabetic population in a multiple linear regression analysis include sex, with the female population being more susceptible; absence of myopia; a longer duration of diabetes; higher glycosylated hemoglobin level; higher blood glucose level; increasing severity of diabetic retinopathy; and higher systolic blood pressure.