Awareness of Diabetic Retinopathy among DiabeticPatients in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah,Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication of DM, it occurs due to poor control of DM and lack of knowledge on the complications of DM. Among many approaches, strong awareness of retinopathy by diabetic patients could help in the early detection, management and prevention of this complication. Aim: this study was conducted to assess the awareness of diabetic retinopathy among diabetics in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A hospital-based, cross sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire. All diabetic patients seen at the diabetes clinic in King Abdulaziz University Hospital were recruited. Questionnaire was distributed on all participants. The questionnaire contained questions to determine awareness of retinopathy and its risk factors. Data obtained was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 16.0. Results: A total of 357 diabetic patients were involved with a mean age of 50 years. 61% of patients were aware of DR. Only 38% were aware that annual retinal examinations are required and 70% were not aware what the treatment for DR is. And only 50% of all the respondents went for eye checkups. Conclusion: Although a large proportion of diabetics in Saudi Arabia are aware that diabetes can affect their eyes, there is however little or no knowledge of its risk factors and prevention. There is therefore a need for increasing this awareness in order to decrease the number of cases of blindness resulting from DR in Saudi Arabia.

Awareness of Diabetic Retinopathy Among Type II Diabetic Patients Attending at King Salman Armed Forced Hospital-Primary Health Care, Tabuk 2019

“…Results of this study showed that almost the half of diabetic patients attending King Salman Armed Forced Hospital-Primary Health Care had poor knowledge regarding retinopathy, while fourth of them had moderate knowledge, and (25%) had good knowledge. The levels of diabetic patients' knowledge regarding retinopathy have been reported by several studies, which are lower than Alasiri and Bafaraj study in Jeddah, reported that (61.0%) of diabetic patients had good knowledge about retinopathy [5]. A similar result was reported in Hail-Saudi Arabia, where the awareness level of DR showed a 76% awareness [6].…”

“…This result showed that it is well known that awareness is a vitally important step in the creation of a successful program to battle against any disease in the community [5].…”

Awareness of diabetic retinopathy among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary health care in security forces hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…[36] Another study from Jeddah, King Abdul Aziz University hospital reported awareness of DR among 61% of the patients. [37] Studies from different countries reported different level of knowledge about the eye disease caused by diabetes; in India, USA, and Oman there were 50%, 52% and 75% patients, respectively, who had awareness. [383940] The rates of awareness were higher in Myanmar and Nigeria, where the awareness rates were 86% and 84.3%, respectively.…”

“…[33] A study from AlJouf and Hail province, KSA reported that 75.62% of diabetic patients were aware that diabetes can result in eye diseases. [34] A study from Taif, KSA showed that two-thirds of screened T2DM patients had good knowledge about DR.[35] A study from Jeddah, KSA demonstrated that DM patients had a good awareness about DM and its effects on eye; however, they showed the lack of awareness regarding DR.[36] Another study from Jeddah, King Abdul Aziz University found that 61% of diabetic patients had awareness about DR.[37]…”

Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Patient Awareness of Diabetic Retinopathy in Saudi Arabia: A Review of the Literature

“…There was a significant difference between patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes regarding the level of awareness (63.8% vs. 36.2% respectively). Even though almost two-thirds of patients were aware of DR, only 50% had ever had an eye checkup, and only 19.8% were undergoing regular annual checkups [ 33 ].…”