[The sign of the Cross of Andreas in the iris and Diabetes Mellitus: a longitudinal study].

OBJECTIVE To compare the development of diabetes mellitus in subjects with and without the sign of the Cross of Andreas in the iris over a period of four years. METHOD A prospective, descriptive study of quantitative approach. This cohort study had 91 patients without the disease, with and without the signal. The monitoring was conducted by means of the records in medical charts. RESULTS At the end of the research, 28.2% of the group with the sign of the Cross of Andreas was diagnosed with diabetes and 56.5% had two or more episodes of impaired glucose tolerance. In the group without the sign, 4.4% was diagnosed with the disease and 24.5% had two or more episodes of glucose intolerance. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups regarding the development of the disease and glucose intolerance. CONCLUSION The group with the Cross of Andreas developed more glucose intolerance and diabetes than the group without the sign.