Incidence, prevalence, and factors predicting diabetic retinopathy among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in public health centers, Bangkok metropolitan administration

The Objectives this research were 1) to explore incidence and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients, and 2) to study the predictive power of Hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood sugar, duration of having T2DM, health behaviour, health literacy, genetics, and income to the occurrence of DR among T2DM patients receiving care from public health centers. A retrospective study design was conducted from 1,084 chart records to explore the incidence and prevalence of DR. Then 153 participants were recruited to study predicting factors for the occurrence of DR. Data were collected from chart reviews and self-reported questionnaires; then analyzed using descriptive and logistic statistics analysis. The findings showed that the incidence rate of DR was 3 per 1,000 population, and the prevalence rate of DR was 134 per 1,000 population. Hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood sugar, duration of having T2DM, health behaviour, health literacy, genetics, and income altogether could predict the occurrence of DR by 47% (R² = 0.47, p < .05). Hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood sugar, duration of having T2DM, and health literacy could reduce the risk of DR significantly (OR = 1.51, 95%CI = 1.04, 2.21, p < .05;OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 1.00, 1.02, p < .05; OR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.16, 1.47, p < .05; and OR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.92, 0.98, p < .05). The incidence and prevalence of DR were the important health index reflecting a serious complication among uncontrolled T2DM patients. Success in controlling blood sugar level and gaining health literacy helped patients reduce the risk for DR. Nurse practitioners could take the messages from this study to create proactive interventions/services for promoting healthy behaviour and health literacy to prevent or delay the occurrence of DR among T2DM patients.