Purpose: To investigate the discriminative ability of letter contrast sensitivity (CS) and visual acuity (VA) in detecting functional losses in participants with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: LogMAR VA and letter CS were measured on 20 type 2 diabetic and 24 age-matched control participants. The diabetic participants were sub-grouped according to the level of retinopathy present.
Results: Letter CS was able to distinguish those participants with and without macular oedema and those with no or minimal diabetic retinopathy from the control group, whereas VA was not.
Conclusion: Letter CS may be used as an effective screening tool to assess damage to the visual pathway of diabetic participants both with and without clinically detectable signs.