Konstantinidis L, et al. - The target of this trial was to investigate the prevalence, awareness and practices with regard to eye diseases among patients with diabetes in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. A substantial proportion of patients with diabetes did not report annual eye examination, irrespective of high levels of awareness regarding diabetic eye diseases. The data recommended the encouragement of healthcare strategic efforts targeting the promotion of regular eye examination and initiatives focusing on improving the knowledge of screening guidelines.

Methods

• The recruitment involved 323 patients with diabetes.
• Enrollees completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing prevalence, awareness and practices regarding eye diseases, apart from the health status and quality of care measures.
• Descriptive analyses along with exploratory subgroup analyses and linear regressions gauged the factors related to the awareness and practices.

Results

• Diabetic retinopathy was reported by 40.9% of patients with type 1 diabetes and 9.8% of patients with type 2 diabetes.
• 35.8% and 12.6% of the candidates reported cataract and glaucoma, respectively.
• Awareness that diabetes could damage the eyes was reported by a majority of the candidates.
• Maximum patients were aware of the significance of glycemic control and regular eye examination in preventing eye diseases.
• On the other hand, only 70.5% of participants underwent an eye examination by an ophthalmologist during the past year.
• A correlation was disclosed between eye examination with better patients’ awareness.
• Barriers mentioned by patients exhibited a paucity of knowledge about screening guidelines, especially the preventive nature of eye examinations.