Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that is increasing globally and in Saudi Arabia. DM has various complications, such as nephropathy and retinopathy, which may lead to blindness and vision loss. To avoid these devastating complications and adverse events, patients should have awareness and knowledge about this complication. The aim of the current study was to assess the awareness, knowledge, and attitude of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among diabetic patients in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study was conducted between January and September 2020 in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The study included a total of 1,232 diabetic patients. All data obtained were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.
Results: Of the participants, 84.5% were above 25 years old. 55% were males, and 45% were females. Regarding the type of DM, 47.6% had type 2 DM (T2DM), 25.2% had type 1 DM (T1DM). Regarding the knowledge and awareness about DR, 89.2% know that DM affects the eye, and 48.1% reported that their vision had been affected by DM, and 80.8% know that DM can affect the retina. We found that marital status (p-value = 0.002), education (p-value = 0.03), income (p-value = 0.001), smoking status (p-value = 0.02), hypertension (p-value =0.001), dyslipidemia (p-value =
Key words: Diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, awareness, diabetic patients, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
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