Background: At present there are no large scale nationally-representative studies from Sri Lanka on the prevalence\nand associations of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors\nfor DR in a community-based nationally-representative sample of adults with self-reported diabetes mellitus from\nSri Lanka.\nMethods: A cross-sectional community-based national study among 5,000 adults (?18 years) was conducted in\nSri Lanka, using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was\nused to collect data. Ophthalmological evaluation of patients with ââ?¬Ë?knownââ?¬â?¢ diabetes (previously diagnosed at a\ngovernment hospital or by a registered medical practitioner) was done using indirect ophthalmoscopy. A binary-logistic\nregression analysis was performed with ââ?¬Ë?presence of DRââ?¬â?¢ as the dichotomous dependent variable and other\nindependent covariates.\nResults: Crude prevalence of diabetes was 12.0% (n = 536), of which 344 were patients with ââ?¬Ë?knownââ?¬â?¢ diabetes.\nMean age was 56.4 Ã?± 10.9 years and 37.3% were males. Prevalence of any degree of DR was 27.4% (Males-30.5%,\nFemales-25.6%; p = 0.41). In patients with DR, majority had NPDR (93.4%), while 5.3% had maculopathy. Patients with\nDR had a significantly longer duration of diabetes than those without. In the binary-logistic regression analysis\nin all adults duration of diabetes (OR:1.07), current smoking (OR:1.67) and peripheral neuropathy (OR:1.72)\nall were significantly associated with DR.\nConclusions: Nearly 1/3rd of Sri Lankan adults with self-reported diabetes are having retinopathy. DR was\nassociated with diabetes duration, cigarette smoking and peripheral neuropathy. However, further prospective\nfollow up studies are required to establish causality for identified risk factors.
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