Self-declaration of diabetes and factors associated with having regular eye examinations among patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkey.

Purpose: To assess the awareness of diabetic retinopathy (DR), decided by self-declaration of diabetes, and the factors associated with having regular eye examinations among patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkey.

Methods: Between January and June 2014, 3322 adult patients attending an outpatient ophthalmology clinic were screened and 160 patients with type 2 diabetes with a known duration of at least 5 years were included. All patients were asked for their complaints and self-declaration of diabetes was noted. A questionnaire including questions about demographic characteristics, disease process, and follow-up was applied to responders, and all patients underwent a detailed ophthalmologic examination with dilation.

Results: A total of 31.9% of the patients self-declared that they had diabetes and/or requested examination for DR. A total of 29.4% reported that they had regular eye examinations. In regression analyses, factors associated with having regular eye examination were longer duration of diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 2.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-5.8; p = 0.049), insulin use (OR 4.45; 95% CI 1.7-10.7; p = 0.001), and self-declaration of diabetes (OR 8.16; 95% CI 3.5-19.2; p<0.001).

Conclusions: The rates of self-declaration of diabetes and having regular eye examinations among patients with type 2 diabetes are low in Turkey. All adults undergoing an eye examination should be questioned for diabetes. Education of both patients with diabetes and the health care stuff dealing with them could improve the rates of patients having regular eye examinations and enhance the early detection of DR.