Diabetes mellitus, is our patients` knowledge of its complications adequate to save their useful vision?

Abstract EN

In order to have an ophthalmologic survey of our diabetic patients and to have an idea about their knowledge of ophthalmic diabetic complications, this study was conducted on 76 consecutive diabetic patients attending a private specialized ophthalmic clinic for variable reasons.

64.5% of the studied population had impaired visual acuity.

Cataract was the leading cause of abnormal visual acuity followed by advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy.55.26% of our diabetic patients did not know about their disease effect on the eye and never undertake an action previously.41% of the diabetics who know well about the disease effect on the eye enjoyed visual acuities of 6 / 6 and only 30.9% of the ignorant patients did so.

Although the difference was statistically not significant, the importance of educating the diabetics about their disease progress and complications is to be emphasized on and further professional efforts are to be shown.