Assessment of knowledge about diabetic retinopathy and method of conducting screening in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes

Purpose
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading causes of blindness in the working-age population. Clinical guidelines recommend annual eye screening for all diabetic patients. In Poland, unfortunately there is no national diabetic retinopathy prevention program. The aim of the study was to evaluate patients’ knowledge of diabetic retinopathy and how the retinopathy screening is performed by physicians.

Material and methods
The study cohort consisted of 417 patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed over 5 years earlier, currently with inadequate metabolic control. Patients answered questions about their knowledge of diabetic retinopathy and how the screening is conducted.

Results
Mean age of subjects was 64.3 ± 9.1 years, their mean HbA1c level was 9.4 ± 2.1%, and the duration of diabetes was 9.8 ± 4.1 years. Over 50% of patients had not attended eye examination for two years prior to the survey. Only 30% of patients stated that aim of the eye check is retinal examination. Only 8% answered that painless loss of vision is a symptom of severe diabetic retinopathy. Only 56% of patients were informed of the findings of their screening and only 52% had the next appointment scheduled. The main reasons for not attending eye examination included lack of knowledge (37%) and lack of time (26%).

Conclusions
A significant group of patients do not attend diabetic eye screening. Their knowledge of this complication is insufficient. Patient education and better working relationships between the diabetology and ophthalmology consultants, and the patients should significantly improve the effectiveness of diabetic eye screening.