AIM: To explore the relationship between diabetic macular edema(DME)and diabetic duration with visual acuity.

METHODS:The clinical material examination results, diabetic duration and visual acuity on 40 DME patients diagnosed by fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA)and optical coherence tomography(OCT)method were analyzed in this retrospective study. The relationship between various types of DME and above mentioned factors was also analyzed.

RESULTS: Among 40 DME patients, 14 eyes(35%)were focal DME, diffuse DME in 20 eyes(50%)and cystoid macular edema in 6 eyes(15%). Significant correlations existed between the visual loss and the types of DME(r=-0.835, P=0.000). There was more damage to the visual acuity of patients with macular cystoid edema than those with focal DME. The diabetic duration was closely related to the types of DME(r=0.472, P=0.002).

CONCLUSION: The DME are closely related to diabetic duration and visual acuity.