ABSTRACT
To determine the frequency of diabetic retinopathy and its risk factors in diabetic patients attending the eye clinic at the University Hospital of the West Indies [UHWI]. This was a prospective cohort study of diabetic outpatients attending the Eye Clinic at the UHWI. Data were collected on age, gender, type of diabetes mellitus [DM], type of diabetic retinopathy, other ocular diseases, visual acuity, blood glucose and blood pressure. Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS version 19.0] was used for data analysis There were 104 patients [208 eyes] recruited for this study. There were 58.6% [61/104] females [mean age 53.6 +/- 11.9 years] and 41.4% [43/104] males [mean age 61.7 +/- 12.1 years]. Type II DM was present in 68.3% [56% were females] of the patients and Type I DM was present in 31.7% [69.7% were females]. Most patients [66%] were compliant with their diabetic medications. The mean blood glucose was 11.4 +/- 5.3 mmol/L. Elevated blood pressure [>130/80] was present in 82.7% of patients. The mean visual acuity was 20/160 [logMAR 0.95 +/- 1.1]. The frequency of diabetic retinopathy was 78%; 29.5% had background retinopathy, and 50.5% of eyes had proliferative diabetic retinopathy [PDR] of which 34% had tractional retinal detachments. The odds ratio of developing PDR was 1.88 [95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.02-3.3] for Type I DM compared to 0.74 [95% CI: 0.55-0.99] for Type II DM. PDR was more prevalent in females [Chi [2], P = 0.009] in both Type I and II DM. Jamaica has a high frequency of PDR which is more common in Type I diabetics and females. This was associated with poor glucose and blood pressure control