AWARENESS OF DIABETIC EYE DISEASES AMONG DIABETIC IN-PATIENTS AT KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Saudi Arabia is the second most common country affected by diabetes mellitus in the Middle East, and it is the seventh in the world. Approximately 10% of diabetic patients develop visual impairment and blindness due to ocular complications. These could be prevented by increasing awareness. Aim: To assess the awareness of diabetic eye disease among diabetic in-patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 241 diabetic in-patients attreated between 2014 and 2017 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected through a telephone-based interview and analysis was performed using SPSS. The chi-square test was used to investigate the relationship between demographic data and awareness to diabetic eye disease. Results: A total of 241 patients were included in the analyses. Of these, 140 (58.1%) were males. Approximately 80.9% of the patients knew about diabetic eye disease. Patients with a higher educational level and economic status were more aware about diabetic eye diseaseA considerable proportion of the patients (79.7%) were aware that retinopathy could be caused by diabetes. Conversely, only 41.9% and 32.8% were aware that cataract and glaucoma could be caused by diabetes mellitus, respectively. Conclusion: Most patients were aware ofthe ophthalmologic complications of diabetes. Despite being aware of diabetic retinopathy, more than half of the patients didnot know that it was curable hence, more public health education is needed.