Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 1996 May;80(5):405–408. doi: 10.1136/bjo.80.5.405

Lens thickness and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: a population based twin study.

N Løgstrup 1, A K Sjølie 1, K O Kyvik 1, A Green 1
PMCID: PMC505489  PMID: 8695559

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the relation between lens thickness and duration of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). METHODS: From the new population based Danish twin register, containing 20,888 twin pairs born between 1953 and 1982 (inclusive), all twin pairs having one or both partners affected with IDDM were searched. Among the 45 twin pairs available for clinical eye examination there were 15 monozygotic pairs, 14 dizygotic pairs of same sex, and 16 dizygotic pairs of opposite sex. Lens thickness was measured by ultrasonography. Using a twin control design, the relation between lens thickness and duration of IDDM was assessed by estimating the correlation between the intrapair difference in lens thickness and the intrapair difference in diabetes duration. RESULTS: In monozygotic twin pairs a statistically highly significant correlation between duration of diabetes and lens thickness was found (right eye: r = 0.88, p < 0.0001; left eye: r = 0.90, p < 0.0001). In dizygotic twin pairs of the same sex the correlations were r = 0.58 (p = 0.029) and r = 0.53 (p = 0.053) for right eye and left eye, respectively. For dizygotic twin pairs of opposite sex the correlations were r = 0.58 (p = 0.018) and r = 0.69 (p = 0.005) for right eye and left eye, respectively. The slope in regression analysis were similar for monozygotic twin pairs (0.025, common for both eyes) and dizygotic twin pairs grouped (0.024, common for both eyes). CONCLUSIONS: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between duration of IDDM and lens thickness, as assessed by the twin control method. The higher correlation in monozygotic twins compared with dizygotic twins suggests that genetic factors play an additional role in the determination of lens thickness. The similar slopes in regression analysis indicate that the effect of diabetes duration on lens thickness is independent of zygosity.

Full text

PDF
405

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Chamberlain C. G., McAvoy J. W. Evidence that fibroblast growth factor promotes lens fibre differentiation. Curr Eye Res. 1987 Sep;6(9):1165–1169. doi: 10.3109/02713688709034890. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Eva P. R., Pascoe P. T., Vaughan D. G. Refractive change in hyperglycaemia: hyperopia, not myopia. Br J Ophthalmol. 1982 Aug;66(8):500–505. doi: 10.1136/bjo.66.8.500. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fledelius H. C., Fuchs J., Reck A. Refraction in diabetics during metabolic dysregulation, acute or chronic. With special reference to the diabetic myopia concept. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1990 Jun;68(3):275–280. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1990.tb01922.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fledelius H. C. Is myopia getting more frequent? A cross-sectional study of 1416 Danes aged 16 years+. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1983 Aug;61(4):545–559. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1983.tb04344.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fledelius H. C., Miyamoto K. Diabetic myopia--is it lens-induced? An oculometric study comprising ultrasound measurements. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1987 Aug;65(4):469–473. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1987.tb07025.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fledelius H. C. Refractive change in diabetes mellitus around onset or when poorly controlled. A clinical study. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1987 Feb;65(1):53–57. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1987.tb08491.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Garner M. H., Spector A. ATP hydrolysis kinetics of Na,K-ATPase in cataract. Exp Eye Res. 1986 Apr;42(4):339–348. doi: 10.1016/0014-4835(86)90027-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Goldschmidt E. The importance of heredity and environment in the etiology of low myopia. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1981 Oct;59(5):759–762. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1981.tb08743.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gwinup G., Villarreal A. Relationship of serum glucose concentration to changes in refraction. Diabetes. 1976 Jan;25(1):29–31. doi: 10.2337/diab.25.1.29. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kyvik K. O., Green A., Beck-Nielsen H. Concordance rates of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: a population based study of young Danish twins. BMJ. 1995 Oct 7;311(7010):913–917. doi: 10.1136/bmj.311.7010.913. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kyvik K. O., Green A., Beck-Nielsen H. The new Danish Twin Register: establishment and analysis of twinning rates. Int J Epidemiol. 1995 Jun;24(3):589–596. doi: 10.1093/ije/24.3.589. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lin L. L., Chen C. J. Twin study on myopia. Acta Genet Med Gemellol (Roma) 1987;36(4):535–540. doi: 10.1017/s0001566000006917. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Merimee T. J., Zapf J., Froesch E. R. Insulin-like growth factors. Studies in diabetics with and without retinopathy. N Engl J Med. 1983 Sep 1;309(9):527–530. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198309013090904. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Planten J. T., Kooijman A. C., de Vries B., Woldringh J. J. Pathological-optic approach of cataract and lens. Ophthalmologica. 1978;176(6):331–334. doi: 10.1159/000308724. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Reddan J. R., Wilson-Dziedzic D. Insulin growth factor and epidermal growth factor trigger mitosis in lenses cultured in a serum-free medium. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1983 Apr;24(4):409–416. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Saito Y., Ohmi G., Kinoshita S., Nakamura Y., Ogawa K., Harino S., Okada M. Transient hyperopia with lens swelling at initial therapy in diabetes. Br J Ophthalmol. 1993 Mar;77(3):145–148. doi: 10.1136/bjo.77.3.145. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sparrow J. M., Bron A. J., Brown N. A., Neil H. A. Biometry of the crystalline lens in early-onset diabetes. Br J Ophthalmol. 1990 Nov;74(11):654–660. doi: 10.1136/bjo.74.11.654. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sparrow J. M., Bron A. J., Phelps Brown N. A., Neil H. A. Biometry of the crystalline lens in late onset diabetes: the importance of diabetic type. Br J Ophthalmol. 1992 Jul;76(7):428–433. doi: 10.1136/bjo.76.7.428. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Teikari J. M., Kaprio J., Koskenvuo M. K., Vannas A. Heritability estimate for refractive errors--a population-based sample of adult twins. Genet Epidemiol. 1988;5(3):171–181. doi: 10.1002/gepi.1370050304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Teikari J. M., Kaprio J., Koskenvuo M., O'Donnell J. Heritability of defects of far vision in young adults--a twin study. Scand J Soc Med. 1992 Jun;20(2):73–78. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Teikari J., Koskenvuo M., Kaprio J., O'Donnell J. Study of gene-environment effects on development of hyperopia: a study of 191 adult twin pairs from the Finnish Twin Cohort Study. Acta Genet Med Gemellol (Roma) 1990;39(1):133–136. doi: 10.1017/s0001566000005651. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES