Role of diabetes mellitus on the natural history of central retinal vein occlusion.
In order to elucidate the role of diabetes mellitus on the natural history of central retinal vein occlusion, we compared two groups of central retinal vein occlusion, one with diabetes mellitus (32 patients) and one without diabetes mellitus (113 patients). The two groups were quite similar with respect to age, sex, systemic hypertension and glaucoma. No fellow eye had proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The diabetic group had angiographically a more ischemic type of central retinal vein occlusion (72%) than the nondiabetic group (39%; p less than 0.002). Diabetics with central retinal vein occlusion should be closely monitored.