Awareness of Diabetic Retinopathy among Diabetic Patients in a Tertiary Health Care Center

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the awareness of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients in a tertiary health care centre. A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire on 115 diabetic patients. Male (76%) participated in the study were more than female (39%). Mean age of the study population being 50.44 years. There were no significant statistical associations between the demographic details and awareness of DR. In our study, 80.87% of people with diabetes were aware that DM could cause eye disease and 59.13% were aware that DR is an eye disease due to DM. There was a significant statistical association between them. The importance of regular eye visits was known by only 80% and followed by only 51.3%. Half of the subjects (52.17%) knew that DR could cause blindness. Only 57.39% knew about the treatment modalities of DR. Doctors should convey the importance of the disease and its risk factors to the patients. Thus, better prevention strategies of DR should be implemented among people with diabetes. Lack of awareness and lesser screening practices makes it difficult to prevent DR; thus, steps should be taken towards spreading awareness.