ABSTRACT
To determine the frequency of diabetic retinopathy in adult diabetic population of Bahawalpur city. A cross-sectional population based study was carried out to determine the frequency of diabetic retinopathy among adult diabetics of Bahawalpur City from January 2009 - June 2010 at Ophthalmology Department Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur and Department of Pathology, Quaid-i-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur. Two thousand sixty diabetics [males=1090, females = 970] aged 18 - 55 years [mean age = 38 years] were included in the study who were residing in Bahawalpur for last 3 years. Anthropometric measurements including weight, height and waist measurement were obtained using standardized techniques. Blood pressure was recorded in the sitting position in the right arm to the nearest 2 mm Hg with a mercury sphygmomanometer. A fasting blood sample was taken after ensuring 8 hours of overnight fasting for estimation of plasma glucose. According to ADA criteria, patients having fasting plasma glucose > 99 mg/dl were considered to have impaired glucose level and OGTT was performed. Those having fasting plasma glucose level >/= 125 mg/dl were considered diabetic. For retinal studies, pupils were dilated in both eyes. The four fields taken were stereoscopic picture of the macula, disc and superior temporal and inferior temporal quadrants. Color photography [35 mm] was used because of better clarity and the stereo effect. The frequency of diabetic retinopathy in study subjects was found to be 34.5%. Occurrence of diabetic retinopathy shows a positive correlation with duration of diabetes. Frequency of diabetic retinopathy in Bahawalpur City is 34.5% and hyperglycemia, BMI, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia are direct association with diabetic retinopathy