Keywords: Diabetic Retinopathy, Diabetes Mellitus, Screening

Aim:

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the most common cause of blindness in people of working age. Early detection and treatment are crucial to prevent vision loss from DR.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of DR in patients with DM.

Method:

This retrospective study was conducted from 2022 to 2024 at the University Hospital Zagreb and included 1334 outpatient adults suffering from DM. 32% of them suffered from type 1 DM, 65% from type 2 DM and 3% from other types of DM. 52% of the subjects were male. The subjects had no history of DR. Screening was performed by an endocrinologist using a non-midriatic fundoscopic camera.

Results:

DR was detected in 16% of patients, 57% of patients were male, median age was 52 years, IQR 27-63. When analysing the cumulative incidence, the duration of DM was 5 years in 19% of patients with proven DR, 10 years in 35%, 20 years in 80% and 30 years in 97%. The median duration of DM during which DR developed was 23 years (95% CI 20-26); in male patients the median was 20 years and in female patients 25 years. The duration of DM during which DR developed did not depend on the type of DM (p= 0.151). DR was detected in 21% of patients with type 1 DM and in 14% of patients with type 2 DM.

Conclusions:

In this population, which included 1334 DM patients attending the endocrinology outpatient clinic, the prevalence of DR was 16%. The type of DM had no influence on the timing of the development of DR. It is important to recognise DR as early as possible to enable rapid treatment and prevent vision loss.