Determining the Prevalence of Retinopathy and Its Related Factors among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Kerman, Iran

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of retinopathy and its associated factors in diabetic patients referred to a diabetes center in an Iranian city. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive–analytical study in which a researcher-made checklist was used to collect the data of patients with type 2 diabetes in 2015. The statistical population consisted of 11,770 health records of diabetic patients registered in a second-level diabetes center. Of the 11,770 health records, 206 records with the most complete data about patients with type 2 diabetes were selected through census method. Chi-square test and logistic regression through SPSS were used for data analysis. RESULTS: In this study, 93/206 diabetic patients (45.1%) had retinopathy. Female sex, age over 60, lower education level, being housewife, family history of having diabetes, longer years of having the disease, and higher level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were associated with higher risk of retinopathy. However, the association was statistically significant only for the HbA1c level (p ≥ 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to this study, HbA1c level is a predictor of diabetes complications. Therefore, it is necessary for health authorities to improve diabetes management through different strategies to prevent complications to control blood sugar effectively.