Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in rural Pakistan: A population based cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), an emerging cause of sight threat and blindness from a large rural population in Pakistan.

Methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study. We selected a rural district of Matiari Sindh Province in Pakistan, where we selected all the health facilities and their attached Lady Health Workers (LHWs)/Lady Health Supervisors (LHSs). These female health workers were trained to identify high-risk diabetic individuals in their catchment areas using pre-defined criteria and to refer them to the nearest health facilities for screening and testing random blood sugar (BSR). Adults of 18 years or above, male or female, were included in the study for DM and DR screening. Ophthalmic examination was conducted by the optometrists on those who had BSR level >180 mg/dl for the evidence of DR. Identified DR patients were referred to a linked tertiary-level ophthalmology institute for their free DR treatment.

Results: Of the identified and referred 24,463 participants, 23,999 were tested for BSR and 2,331 (9.74%) were found to be high-risk patients (BSR >180 mg/dl) and had ophthalmic examination conducted. Of these, 563 had clinically established DR, a prevalence of 24.2% (95% CI, 22-26%). Significantly more DR patients (228, 40.5%) were found in the age group >60 years, with more among female (327, 58.1%) with DR.

Conclusion: DR is highly prevalent in the Pakistani rural population. The establishment of an integrated approach within the health care system could decrease the burden of DR in Pakistan.