Frequency of Retinopathy in Patients Newly Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: The most prevalent microvascular consequence of diabetes mellitus on the eye is diabetic retinopathy, which is also one of the major reasons for poor vision in the working-age population. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of type 2 diabetic retinopathy in participants. Methods: The Department of Medicine at the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar performed a six-month cross-sectional study from May to November 2022. A total of 196 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the research. Results: Ages ranged from 18 to 60 years with a mean age of 37.59 ± 10.21 years, with the majority of the patients (n=16) belonging to the fourth decade. Thirty-one individuals (15.81%) with clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus had diabetic retinopathy, of which 12 (6.12%) were females and 19 (9.69%) were males. Among patients with diabetic retinopathy, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) was determined to be 9.4 ± 1.5, and among those with other types of retinopathy, background retinopathy was detected in 11 (5.61%) men and seven (3.57%) female patients. Conclusion: The majority of diabetic retinopathy patients in the current study were older than 40 years and were primarily males. In newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus participants, retinopathy occurred in 15.81% of cases (n=31), with background retinopathy accounting for the majority of cases (n=18, 9.18%).