A STUDY OF PATTERN OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS IN DIABETIC PATIENTS : A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus has protean manifestations in an individual and affects virtually every organ of the body. Diabetic retinopathy remains a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in people of working age-group. The present study was a hospital-based study designed to study the pattern of diabetic retinopathy and associated risk factors in diabetic individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our study was a prospective, hospital-based study of 200 cases of diabetes mellitus attending the Eye OPD at R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain. All patients suffering from diabetes, irrespective of the duration of the disease, were included in the study. Each patient was subjected to a comprehensive ocular examination and the results were recorded and analyzed in detail. RESULTS: Our study included 200 diabetic patients. Out of these 111 (55.5%) were males and 89 (44.5%) were females. 108 (54%) patients were in the age group between 41-60 years. 109 (54.5%) patients in the study group had duration of diabetes >5years. We found that 114 (28.5%) eyes had mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 36 (9%) eyes had moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and 14 (3.5%) eyes showed proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). 61 (30.5%) patients had raised blood pressure in the study group which suggests hypertension as a significant risk factor for diabetic retinopathy. We found that 101 (50.5%) patients in the study group had HbA1c levels > 8gm% and 55 (27.5%) patients had dyslipidemia. 21 (10.5%) patients had hemoglobin levels <8gm%. The prevalence of blindness in our study group was found to be 10.3%. CONCLUSION: The results of our study show that pattern of diabetic retinopathy in an individual is directly associated with risk factors such as duration of diabetes, hypertension, poor glycemic control, dyslipidemia and anaemia.