Abstract
Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common micro vascular complication of diabetes and the foremost cause of blindness in working aged people and patients who are aged 55 years or older. It is estimated that up to 84.5% of patients with DM who have had the disease for more than 20 years will develop DR. DR is the leading cause of avoidable visual impairment and blindness worldwide it can affect 24% of diabetic patients who have had the disease for 10-15 years.
Aim: to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of diabetic retinopathy among the Diabetic Patients in Aseer Region.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between December, 2019 and March, 2020. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed in Arabic, which included questions about patients' bio-demographic data, type and duration of diabetes, awareness of DR.
Results: A total sample of 915 participants was included in the study with nearly half of them aged 40 years or more. Exactly 53.6% of the cases were males and 53.2% were married. University level of education was reported among 50.4% of the cases. Exactly 45.4% of the patients reported the normal level of blood glucose level and 76.6% reported that it's important to keep blood glucose level at its normal range. About 50% of the patients agreed that diabetic retinopathy is a curable disorder and 66.1% reported that uncontrolled diabetes is the main cause of progressing DR. Totally, more than half of the patients had good awareness level regarding diabetic retinopathy.
Conclusions & recommendations: In conclusion, the study revealed that the patients' awareness level and practice regarding diabetic retinopathy was intermediate. The patients who were recently diagnosed were more compliant for periodic checkups and had higher awareness level. More effort should be paid to improve patients' awareness regarding diabetes as a chronic health problem and of its related complications.