Incidence of posterior capsule opacification after extracapsular cataract extraction in diabetic patients

Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is the most frequent complication following extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). To evaluate the rate of PCO we examined 939 eyes (786 patients) following ECCE after a period of 26.3 months on the average. In 202 eyes (21.5%) cataract was associated with a clinically manifest type I or type II diabetes mellitus. The overall incidence of PCO was 28.1% (264 eyes). In patients with no other diseases (371 eyes, 100%) it was 33.4% (124 eyes). Out of 202 eyes (100%) associated with diabetes PCO was seen in 21.8% (44 eyes). This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.05). Average age and sex did not differ significantly in both groups. In diabetic patients the lens epithelial cells show accumulation of sorbitol and fructose which is proposed to contribute to cataract formation by disturbing cellular metabolism. This mechanism may explain our findings of a lower incidence of PCO possibly caused by reduced proliferation of lens epithelial cells.