Awareness of the necessity of regular eye examinations among diabetics: The yazd eye study

Abstract

Background:Diabetic retinopathy and its consequence, diabetic macular edema, are leading causes of vision loss in diabetics and can develop even in the first years after onset of diabetes. Being asymptomatic in primary phase and having compensatory effect of bilateral vision delay the necessity of eye care utilization. We conducted this study to determine diabetic individuals’ level of awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations.Methods:As part of the cross-sectional, population-based, Yazd Eye Study on people aged 40–80 years, diabetic participants were identified for enrollment in this research. Participants underwent thorough ophthalmic examinations as well as detailed interview. Well-trained interviewers asked participants about their awareness of screening eye examinations and their necessity. Fasting blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, and complete lipid profile were assessed. All descriptive and analytic tests were done in survey mode. Logistic regression was applied to assess related risk factors.Results:Among 497 diabetic persons out of 2098 participants, 364 respondents (73.4%; 95% confidence interval: 68.6-78.2) were not aware of the necessity of regular eye examinations. Among 133 aware respondents, 21 (16%) respondents had no eye examination over the past year. Educational level significantly correlated with awareness (P = 0.004), and physicians were the most frequent source of awareness (79.7%).Conclusions:This study showed that a significant proportion of Yazd diabetic population (about 73%) needs to be informed about the necessity of regular eye examinations. The remaining respondents, who had this information, mainly had undergone regular ophthalmologist visits, which imply that educational interventions could improve the situation.

Systematic review on barriers and enablers for access to diabetic retinopathy screening services in different income settings

“…Most of the data collections were done under the primary level general practices, local clinics, rural outreach clinics and primary care clinics (20/77, 25.9%) [44,48,49,59,60,63,66,67,69,71,85, 89,92,93, 95,102,105,106,109,110]. There were 14 population-based studies (14/77, 18.1%) [45, 54, 55, 61,62, 75,76,79,81,88,90,91,98,100]. Eleven studies were conducted at tertiary level institutions (11/77, 14.3% - 8 eye clinics, 1 diabetic clinic, 1 general medical clinic and 1 endocrinology clinic) [37–39, 41,46,47,50,53,99,111,112].…”

“…Huang et al, (2013) showed that unawareness was associated with lower education (primary or less, adjusted OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.5, p<0.0001), lower income (Singapore $ <2000, adjusted OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.5, p = 0.003) and poorer literacy (unable to write—adjusted OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0–2.0, p = 0.03) [115]. Katibeh et al, (2017) also showed that a good level of awareness on DR was associated with secondary or higher education (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.23–2.88, p = 0.004) [55]. Thapa et al, (2012) mentioned that literate patients are more likely to have awareness on DR (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3–5.6, p = 0.006) [37].…”

Attitudes and Awareness Towards Diabetic Retinopathy Among Patients with Diabetes in Amman, Jordan

“…Better glycemic control is reportedly associated with better awareness about eye complications, as demonstrated by other studies. 22 This association could be explained by the fact that patients with DM take better care of themselves when driven by their knowledge about its complications, especially DR.…”

“…Compliance with regular eye exam remains a global issue, as demonstrated by several other studies. 22 , 29 , 30 In Jordan, this lack of compliance can be attributed to poorly distributed secondary and tertiary medical services across the country, which makes it difficult for patients with DM to reach proper facilities for screening within their geographic area.…”