The relation between the duration of insulin dependent, or juvenile onset, diabetes mellitus and changes in the refractive components of the eye undergoes a close and valuable assessment in the paper presented by Løgstrup et al in this month’s issue of the BJO (p 343). While it is known that the duration of diabetes has a marked effect upon lens thickness1 2 and the development of diabetic retinopathy,3-7 ambiguity remains as to whether myopia is more or less prevalent in people with diabetes.8-10

To date, however, existing analysis of the influence of the duration of diabetes upon …