Retinopathy among type 2 diabetic patients seen at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria: a preliminary report.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among patients attending the diabetic clinics of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.


METHODS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Ashaye
Adeyinka
A
Ophthalmology Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. adeyinkaashaye@yahoo.com
Arije
Ayodeji
A
Kuti
Modupe
M
Olusanya
Bolutife
B
Ayeni
Ezekiel
E
Fasanmade
Adesoji
A
Akinlade
Kehinde
K
Obajimi
Millicent
M
Adeleye
Jokotade
J