Objective: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness. We estimated the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among a diabetic population in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in the Republic of Croatia and searched for potential risk factors.
Methods: A prospective study was performed with 600 diabetic patients from different parts of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County who attended regular medical and ophthalmological check-ups at the General Hospital Dubrovnik from September 2014 to September 2015. Patients underwent a complete medical assessment by two ophthalmologists. Retinal examination included evaluation of the presence of diabetic retinopathy. Any retinopathy present was graded as mild non-proliferative retinopathy, moderate-severe non proliferative retinopathy or proliferative retinopathy.
Results: Retinopathy was present in 44.5% of the study sample. 20.7% had the mild form of diabetic retinopathy, 18.8% had the moderate-severe form, and 5.0% had proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The mean duration of diabetes was 12.94 years ± 6.85; 12.89 years ± 9.18 in men, 12.94 ± 6.54 in women. The mean BMI was 27.14 ± 2.98; for diabetics without diabetic retinopathy 26.19 ± 2.75; for those with the mild form 28.06 ± 3.01; for those with the moderate-severe form 28.49 ± 2.54; for those with proliferative diabetic retinopathy 28.79 ± 3.16. 168 (28%) patients were treated by laser and 22 (3.7%) by vitrectomy.
Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County is 44.5%. Regular screening to detect diabetic retinopathy is highly recommended as timely intervention can prevent most diabetic causes of blindness.
Keywords: Dubrovnik-Neretva county; diabetic retinopathy; duration of diabetes; prevalence.