Awareness of diabetic retinopathy among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in and around Chennai

Abstract

To assess the level of awareness about diabetic retinopathy among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in and around Chennai. A cross sectional study was done on 150 Type-2 diabetes mellitus patients in and around Chennai between January 2019 to April 2019, to assess their level of awareness about diabetes retinopathy through a structured questionnaire. Of 150 randomly selected Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, 93 (62%) were women and 57 (38%) were males. 32% of them were illiterates, 31.33% had only primary education and 36.67% had education above middle school. 64.67% of the selected patients wore glasses for refractive error and they were aged from 15yrs to 80yrs. Nearly 3/4 of this urban population are aware about diabetic retinopathy and feel blood glucose control and regular eye check-ups are necessary in reducing the risk of diabetic retinopathy, less than 1/4 know about blindness caused by DR, that laser treatment does not improve the vision but only reduces further deterioration and when a diabetic patient should first visit the eye doctor- therein suggestive that most are aware of the disease but are not well informed about the complications and treatment of the disease.