Vision Threatening in Diabetes Mellitus: A Clinico - Social Study

Background With the alarming rise of Diabetes in the world Retinopathy has appeared a common vascular complication of diabetes. Aims & objectives The present study aims to document the incidence of retinopathy in diabetics and its relationship with age, sex, duration of the disease and hypertension. Materials & methods One hundred and ten consecutive patients of diabetes mellitus attending the Ophthalmologic Clinic of Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital from June to December, 2014 were studied with pre tested and pre designed questionnaire form. The duration of diabetes was reckoned from the onset of significant symptoms. The retinal changes were graded according to ETDRS (Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Scale) classification with International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Disease Severity Scale into various grades viz. Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV & Grade V. Observations Amongst the hundred and ten patients studied, 86 (78.3 %) were males and 24 (21.7 %) were females with peak age incidence between 41-50 years. Grade I and II retinal changes were present in 41 per cent each, Grade III changes in 1.5 per cent and Grade V changes in 16.5 per cent. None of the patients had grade IV changes. The incidence of diabetic retinopathy increased with the increase in the age of the patients. Hypertension (systolic B. P.150mm of Hg and/or diastolic B P. greater than 90mm of Hg) was detected in 35 (31.8 %) patients. Of these, 11 (31.4 %) had retinopathy which was of Grade V severity. Grade I and II retinal changes were seen in three patients each. Conclusion The alarming rise in diabetes prevalence is a global public health and economic problem. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common complication of diabetes and the leading cause of blindness among working-age populations in India as well as in the Western World. Screening and prompt treatment of diabetic retinopathy should be the top priorities because the impacts of other causes of preventable blindness remain an issue.