Retinal manifestations of diabetes on the first visit of Jordanian diabetics to the ophthalmology clinic

Abstract EN

-Objectives: To assess retinal complications of diabetes mellitus among Jordanian diabetic patients during their first visit to the ophthalmology clinic.

Methods: This study was conducted at Ophthalmology outpatient clinics in three major Royal Medical Services hospitals between 1st June 2009 and 1st October 2010.

Sixty-seven diabetic patients who attended these clinics for the first time for complete ophthalmological examination were enrolled in the study regardless of the type and duration of diabetes.

Pregnant women, patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, sickle cell disease or previous retinal and chronic ocular diseases were excluded from the study.

A detailed history was obtained from every patient.

Ocular examination included best corrected visual acuity, ocular adnexal and ocular motility, and slit-lamp examination of the anterior and posterior segments.

Results: The mean age of patients and duration of diabetes was 53.6 and 6.2 years respectively.

Diabetic retinopathy was present in 29 (43.2%) patients; seven of them had Type I diabetes mellitus and 22 (32.8%) patients had Type II diabetes.

The frequency of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and maculopathy was 20.8%, 6.0% and 16.4% respectively; none of the patients had anterior segment or adnexal diabetic complication at the time of presentation.

Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy has a high frequency among a clinic sample of Jordanian patients with diabetes.

Retinopathy screening remains inadequate.

Effort is needed to improve health education and diabetes awareness in the general population.

This will allow early detection and treatment of diabetic retinopathy and reduce the burden of visual impairment in the Jordanian population.