Prevalence and Factors Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, YOUSSIF M.H.A. MAZEN and MOHAMED A. ELHAW
Abstract Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most impor-tant cause of irreversible blindness in working-age adults. It is mainly caused by microvascular complications in the retina. Aim of Study: This work aimed was to determine the prev-alence of DR and its associated factors among type 2 diabetic patients. Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was carried out on 220 patients diagnosed with T2DM. All patients were subjected to direct ophthalmoscopy examination and fun-duscopic examination. Results: Out of 220 T2DM patients, 48 (21.82%) patients had DR. BMI, increased duration of DM, smoking, HTN, HbA1c, and FPG were significantly higher in T2DM patients with DR than those without DR. In univariate regression anal-ysis, BMI, duration of DM, smoking, HTN, and HbA1c had a significant influence on prevalence of DR in T2DM patients. In multivariate regression analysis, duration of DM and HbA1c had a significant influence on prevalence of DR in T2DM pa-tients. Conclusions: Tight control of blood glucose levels along with screening for diabetes complications like DR soon after diagnosis, especially in patients with longer disease duration may help reduce risk of visual morbidity in T2DM patients.