Alsaleh Majed, Alasmari Aishah H, Al-Amer Abdullah S Y
Department of Family Medicine, Primary Health Care, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Ophthalmology, Asser Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Jun;11(6):2717-2722. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2114_21. Epub 2022 Jun 30.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an avoidable retinal disorder affecting the retina and is deemed the most common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM).
This study aimed to estimate the awareness and attitude of type 2 diabetic patients toward DR.
A study questionnaire was distributed among Saudi patients with type 2 DM who visited primary health care at Abha, Saudi Arabia, after obtaining an ethical approval. It was a modified questionnaire and included basic demographic characteristics of the patients, general knowledge and awareness of DM and DR, and their practices toward eye examination.
Data analysis was performed using SPSS software. Chi-square and z-proportionality tests were applied where appropriate.
A total of 381 patients with DM responded to our survey; 36% of them had DM for five years or less. Notably, 93.5% of participants knew that diabetes can cause eye disease but only 63.3% agreed that regular eye examination for diabetic patients is necessary, with a significant difference of DM duration (p = 0.01). A total of 217 (57%) patients thought that there is no need to visit an ophthalmologist if diabetes is under control. However, 74.5% believed that patients with type 2 DM should go for an eye examination once diagnosed, with a significant difference between disease duration subgroups (p = 0.006).
The current study demonstrated high levels of awareness regarding the effect of DM on the eye and importance of early eye assessment. However, we need to improve the patients' awareness to the value of regular eye checking and standard practices.
糖尿病视网膜病变（DR）是一种可避免的影响视网膜的眼部疾病，被认为是糖尿病（DM）最常见的微血管并发症。
本研究旨在评估2型糖尿病患者对糖尿病视网膜病变的认知和态度。
在获得伦理批准后，向沙特阿拉伯阿卜哈市初级卫生保健机构就诊的2型糖尿病沙特患者发放了一份研究问卷。这是一份经过修改的问卷，包括患者的基本人口统计学特征、对糖尿病和糖尿病视网膜病变的一般知识和认知，以及他们进行眼部检查的情况。
使用SPSS软件进行数据分析。在适当情况下应用卡方检验和z比例检验。
共有381名糖尿病患者回复了我们的调查；其中36%的患者患糖尿病的时间为5年或更短。值得注意的是，93.5%的参与者知道糖尿病会导致眼部疾病，但只有63.3%的人认为糖尿病患者定期进行眼部检查是必要的，糖尿病病程存在显著差异（p = 0.01）。共有217名（57%）患者认为如果糖尿病得到控制就无需看眼科医生。然而，74.5%的人认为2型糖尿病患者一旦确诊就应进行眼部检查，疾病病程亚组之间存在显著差异（p = 0.006）。
当前研究表明，患者对糖尿病对眼睛的影响以及早期眼部评估的重要性有较高认知。然而，我们需要提高患者对定期眼部检查价值和规范做法的认识。
