Frequency of diabetic retinopathy and related factors in ophthalmologic consults in Shahid Mostafa Khomeini hospital between 1998-2002

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most frequent and important human metabolic disorders. More than 150 million people all over the world and near 3 million people in Iran are involved. A great number of cases are undiagnosed. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most important complications of diabetes which may result in blindness. The aim of this study was to determine frequency and progression of diabetic retinopathy and its related factors and also role of ophthalmologic consult in detecting early stages of diabetic retinopathy. As a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, we studied 253 records of hospitalized diabetic patients who had ophthalmologic consultation in Shahid Mostafa Khomeini hospital during 1998-2002. We considered age, gender, duration of diagnosis, treatment modality, fasting plasma glucose, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, creatinine, blood urea, urinary protein and glucose, hypertension, and severity of diabetic retinopathy. Results were analyzed with SPSS software. Among 740 records that had ophthalmology consult, 253 cases [35.54%] had type2 diabetes mellitus. The frequency of diabetic retinopathy [DR] was 69.6% and background DR, preproliferative DR [NPDR] and proliferative DR [PDR] were 34.8%, 13.8% [NPDR=48%] and 20.9%, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the diabetic retinopathy and age, duration of diagnosis, hypertension, serum creatinine, urine protein, urine glucose, blood urea, and cause of hospitalization. There was not any relationship with fasting blood sugar, serum cholesterol, triglyceride and gender. The frequency of DM in the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients who were hospitalized was more than most of the other studies. In our study duration of diagnosis, age and hypertension are the factors which increase frequency of DR. In order to prevent it, ideal blood pressure control is necessary. Preventive efforts can postpone other diabetic complications such as nephropathy. Ophthalmologic consults in hospitalized diabetic patients can help us in screening, detecting early stages and appropriate treatment of DR