Abstract

Objective: To study prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients referred for screening purpose.

Methods: Total of 2716 diabetic patients who were referred to our ophthalmology department for screening were included in the study. Complete eye examination including visual acuity, anterior segment examination and dilated fundus exam was performed. Age specific prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was recorded and also duration of diabetes was considered. Diabetic retinopathy if present was graded according to ETDRS grading system.

Results: Out of 2716 patients in 2273 (84%) revealed no diabetic retinopathy and in 443 (16%) revealed varying degree of diabetic retinopathy. Most of the diabetic retinopathy patients were aged between 60-90 years and least number were between 37-60 years age group. Duration of diabetes was the single most important risk factor for diabetic retinopathy. 56% of diabetic retinopathy patients had duration of diabetes of more than 10 years, where 12% had 5-10 years duration and only 3% had duration of diabetes of less than 5 years. Mild NPDR was the most common type of diabetic retinopathy (52%) followed by severe NPDR (22%), moderate NPDR (17%), NPDR with CSME (6%) and PDR (3%).

Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy is a visually blinding complication of diabetes. Two most important ways to prevent it is to exercise a strict glycemic control and to do a regular dilated fundus examination to detect it at an early stage.

Keywords: NPDR (non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy), PDR (proliferative diabetic retinopathy), CSME (clinically significant macular edema), ETDRS (Early treatment diabetic retinopathy study).