Source of knowledge regarding diabetic retinopathy among sudanese adult diabetic patients at Makkah Eye Complex-Khartoum, Sudan, 2014

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic illness with prevalence of 171 million worldwide; as a result, most of body organs and particularly the eye sensitive tissues are affected. Recently, diabetes was termed as one of the main causes of blindness. There are about 126 million people worldwide affected by diabetic retinopathy (DR) with 37 million patients suffering vision-threatening DR. However, most of the people are unaware of ocular complication due to long-term DM. Research Methodology: This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study included 309 participants' ages 15 years and above who attended Makkah Eye Complex. A standardized pretested and precoded questionnaire was used for collecting the required data. The study was ethically approved from the Institutional Review Board of Al-Neelain University and Khartoum State Ministry of Health, with the permission of Makkah Research Center. Results: Regarding awareness about which part of the eye affected by DR, 46.6% of the participants stated the retina while 40.1% (124) mentioned that they did not know. Regarding awareness about the treatment of DR, 39.91% of the participants mentioned medication, 25.82% of them mentioned surgery, while 23.47% said by laser. The source of knowledge among participants was found to be as follows: 36.2% from media, 18.1% from friends and relatives, while 17.8% from physicians, general practitioners, and ophthalmologists. Conclusion: The number of DM patients who received advice (at the point of disease detection) from doctors or medical personnel to see an ophthalmologist was a minority although it is a very valuable advice since delayed detection of retinopathy leads to serious outcomes and complicates the management. Awareness program and counseling for diabetic patients toward the fact that DR is a manageable disorder if intervention took place in time.