To assess if diabetes, in patients without cataracts or diabetic retinopathy, alters the densitometric values of the lens and to what degree this occurs.A total of 93 patients, divided into two groups, were studied: the diabetic patients had a visual acuity equal to or greater than 0.8 and normal eye funduscopy, and the control group consisted of healthy patients of a similar age. Measurements in all patients were made with the Scheimpflug camera and the lens density of the anterior capsule, anterior cortex and nucleus was defined. The values obtained in the two groups were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA).All densitometric values were greater in the diabetic patients than in the normal controls. The greatest difference was seen in the values of the anterior capsule, followed by the nucleus and cortex. The differences approached statistical significance (P=0.07) only in the case of the anterior capsule.Diabetes increases densitometric values of the anterior capsule and to a lesser degree of the anterior cortex. However, further studies are necessary to verify if this alteration is of significance.