Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are among the leading\ncauses of visual impairment and blindness in developing countries. This study aims to explore the awareness of\nthese retinal diseases in Nepal.\nMethod: A population based cross-sectional study conducted among individuals 60 years and older from the\nBhaktapur district of Nepal. One thousand consecutive subjects were enrolled and subjected to a structured\nquestionnaire.\nResult: Subject age ranged from 60 to 93 years with a meanof 69.5 years �± 7.1(S.D.). Males and females comprised\n45.1 and 55.9 % of the population, respectively. The majority was illiterate (78.2 %), and agriculture was the\npredominant occupation (79.8 %). 12.1 % were aware of the effect of diabetes on the eye, and among them, 99 %\nwere aware that diabetes was a blinding disease caused by DR.11.5 % of the subjects were aware of DR, and 10.1 %\nwere aware that subjects with diabetes should undergo periodic eye examinations. Only 7.6 % of subjects were\naware of AMD.7.5 and 7.4 % were aware about its aggravation with smoking and sunlight exposure, respectively.\nYounger age group, males, literates, service holders, best corrected visual acuity >0.3 LogMAR, were each\nsignificantly associated with an increase in awareness of diabetic retinopathy. Smokers and those with agricultural\noccupations were less aware regarding AMD. Those with diabetes,with or without DRwere significantly more aware\nthan those not having the disease.\nConclusion: Among the Bhaktapur population, awareness of DR and AMD was only 11.5 and7.6 % respectively.\nOlder age groups, females, illiterates, farmers, and those with poor visual acuity were less aware of these blinding\ndiseases. We recommend community-based eye health education programs targeted at raising awareness of these\ndiseases and preventive measures.
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