E. K. Stacy¹ (), S. F. Newbolds¹, V. A. Shah², I.M. Sluch³, M. J. Wenger¹; ¹University of Oklahoma, ²Retina Consultants of Oklahoma, ³US Veterans Administration

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a disease common in patients with Type 2 diabetes that affects retinal vasculature. Patients with DR report feeling socially isolated due to struggles with several vision-related activities, including recognizing faces. Despite this, there is little known about the prevalence and severity of facial recognition deficits in DR. The current study investigated objective measures of facial perception and memory in patients with moderate to severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, with and without macular edema, along with control participants with healthy vision. Participants were recruited from the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and divided into three groups: two patient groups with moderate to severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy—one with macular edema and the other without—and a control group composed of age, race, and sex-matched individuals with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. Each participant completed a contrast sensitivity assessment, the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT), and the Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Test (VHPT). Results indicated that average contrast detection thresholds were higher in participants with DR relative to controls. Additionally, the DR groups demonstrated lower CFMT and VHPT accuracy compared to healthy controls, while demonstrating higher accuracy in congruent relative to incongruent trials. Although contrast detection thresholds were negatively related to accuracy in both the CFMT and the VHPT, neither relationship was significant. This project represents a unique attempt to characterize the prevalence and severity of facial recognition deficits in DR, to further inform potential behavioral and medical treatment strategies.