Nirmal Kumar Sasmal1, Somnath Das2
BACKGROUND
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes and is a leading cause of visual impairment. The rate of development of diabetic retinopathy is a growing public health importance as the population will live longer with a high prevalence of developing diabetes in future. Appropriate eye health education regarding awareness of the sight threatening potential of diabetes and the need for regular eye examinations may encourage people at risk to seek timely and appropriate care who are attending the tertiary eye care centre.
The purpose of our study was to evaluate the awareness about diabetic retinopathy in self-reported diabetic patients attending the tertiary eye care centre.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a prospective study, conducted on 217 diabetic patients attending Outpatient Department of Ophthalmology at Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata, which included questionnaire and analysis of patients based on age, duration of diabetes, education level and presence of diabetes.
RESULTS
217 patients (55% males, 45% females) participated in the study. After thorough analysis, results showed 85% were aware of diabetic eye disease (DED), 57% knew the relationship between DED and diabetes. 51% used to go to eye check-up regularly and 52% had their vision affected.
CONCLUSION
Patients with longer duration of DM and more educated had marginally better awareness.
