Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a common and serious complication of diabetes that can lead to vision loss or even blindness if not detected and treated early. However, some people may not have any symptoms until the condition is advanced. Therefore, regular eye exams with dilated pupils are recommended for people with diabetes to check for signs of diabetic retinopathy and other eye problems regardless of the symptoms.

Objectives of the study: To measure patients’ awareness and practices regarding diabetic retinopathy, to detect the barriers for eye screening and receiving eye check-up, and to find if there is any association between level of awareness with sociodemographic and diabetic variables.

Patients & Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic in Baghdad Teaching Hospital/Medical City Complex, Iraq, from 1st February 2023 to the 30th of July 2023, among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, interview questionnaire was used to measure the awareness of diabetic retinopathy and practices of periodic eye examination, this questionnaire was adapted from previous study.

Results: The overall awareness of participants regarding diabetic retinopathy was good among 249 (61.6%). There were 336 (83.2%) participants who didn’t practice regular eye examination. The biggest barriers of not getting regular eye examination were cost 120 (35.7%), there is significant association between high socioeconomic state, family history of diabetes, long duration of diabetes, type of treatment for diabetes with good level of awareness, there is significant association between age, socioeconomic state with practice of periodic eye examination.

Conclusion: Despite that the overall awareness of diabetic retinopathy is considered good, the practice of regular eye examination is poor. The biggest barriers for not having periodic eye examination were cost.