Retinopathy among type 2 diabetic patients seen at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria: a preliminary report

Adeyinka Ashaye¹, Ayodeji Arije², Modupe Kuti³, Bolutife Olusanya¹, Ezekiel Ayeni¹, Adesoji Fasanmade⁴, Kehinde Akinlade³, Millicent Obajimi⁵, Jokotade Adeleye⁴

¹Ophthalmology Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; ²Renal Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; ³Department of Chemical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; ⁴Endocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; ⁵Radiology Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among patients attending the diabetic clinics of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Methodology: We examined the eyes of 76 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus between July 2003 and January 2004 using dilated fundoscopy at the eye clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The results were compared with published figures.

Results: Mean age of patients was 57.5 ± 10.4 years. Thirty–two patients (42.1%) had diabetic retinopathy. Of these, one patient had features of proliferative diabetic retinopathy while the other patients had non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Majority (53.1%) of those who had retinopathy had diabetes for more than 10 years, while 21.4% of patients without retinopathy had diabetes for more than 10 years (p = 0.005). The mean serial post-prandial plasma glucose of those who had retinopathy was higher when compared with the mean for those who did not have retinopathy (248.7 mg/dl vs 178.3 mg/dl; p = 0.003).

Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in our patients is higher than was previously reported in earlier studies. Patients with diabetes ought to be referred for ophthalmological evaluation and follow-up which they should be actively encouraged to attend.

Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, tertiary hospital patients, Africans