Urban-rural divide in the distribution of diabetic retinopathy

Purpose: To find an association between prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and region, in patients reporting to a tertiary care Diabetic and Endocrinology Center, of western Uttar Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 eyes of 120 diabetic patients presenting at our Institute of Ophthalmology. The demographic profile of each patient was procured and the ETDRS system was used to grade the severity of retinopathy. The data analysis was done with the help of SPSS version 16.0 using unpaired t-test and binary logistic regression analysis. Result: The prevalence of DR was higher among rural patients (70.6%) compared to urban (39.1%). It was observed to be 3.73 times significantly higher among rural than urban patients (OR=3.73, 95%CI=1.72-8.08, p=0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of DR was found to be 3.73 times significantly higher among rural patients when compared to the urban counterparts.