Association between duration of diabetes mellitus and presence as well as severity of diabetic retinopathy among type 2 diabetic patients: A tertiary care hospital based cross-sectional study

Introduction and Aim: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a large public health problem which is rapidly growing globally as well as in India affecting all age groups. Long duration of diabetes mellitus increases the risk of micro-vascular complications like diabetic retinopathy. The objective was to establish the association between duration of diabetes and presence as well as severity of diabetic retinopathy. Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Kolkata, approved by the institutional Research and Ethics Committee. In this study, 107 type 2 diabetic patients of 40 years of age and above were selected. Direct ophthalmoscopy (Heine beta-200) was used for detection & grading of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Results: Results were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi square test, Fisher Exact test, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis test were used in statistical analysis as appropriate. P value less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Significant P values were found in association between duration of diabetes and presence as well as severity of diabetic retinopathy. In binary logistic regression, p value was significant, and odds ratio was 1.089 in case of duration of DM (95% C.I. for Odds Ratio was 1.020-1.164). Conclusion: Results showed that there was statistically significant association between long duration of diabetes and presence along with severity of diabetic retinopathy.