Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy and Risk Factors among Diabetic Patients at University of Gondar Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, North-West Ethiopia.

Purpose: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). It is the most common cause of blindness among the working age group in the developed world and the fifth leading cause of global blindness. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 2.8% of all blindness is caused by DR. Studies addressing the prevalence of DR and associated factors are scarce in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine the Prevalence and associated factors of DR development among DM patients attending University of Gondar, Tertiary Eye Care and Training center.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2019 to February 2020 involving all consecutive diabetes patients who visited the center during the study period. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and data extraction check list and entered into SPSS version 20 and analyzed. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were done to identify predictors of DR. Statistical significance was determined with 95% confidence interval (CI) using odds ratio and P < 0.05.

Results: A total of 225 DM patients with a mean age of 55.4 ± 13.5 years were studied, of whom 95 (42.2%) had DR. Duration of diabetes ≥6 years (AOR = 2.91: 95% CI; 1.01-8.35) and baseline age < 60 years (AOR = 3.2: 95% CI; 1.19-8.63) were significantly associated with DR. DR was significantly associated with the form of therapy. Those on insulin (P = 0.025) and oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) with insulin combination (P = 0.014) had statistically significantly associated with the development of DR. Patients with systolic blood pressure of <140 mmHg were 3.6 times (AOR = 0.28: 95% CI: 0.09-0.82) less likely to have DR. A majority of patients had nonproliferative DR without diabetic macular edema (DME) (34.2%). DME and proliferative DR were seen in 5.7% and 3.6% of the patients, respectively. Vision threatening DR (VTDR) was seen in 10.7% of patients. There was a significant association between age <60 years and VTDR (AOR = 4.19: 95% CI; 1.23-14.35).

Conclusion: The prevalence of DR among our study patients was very high. Longer duration of diabetes, higher systolic blood pressure, baseline age <60 years, use of insulin alone, and use of combination of insulin with OHA were independently associated with DR. Health education, early screening, and treatment are recommended.