Knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding eye complications and care- a cross-sectional study in Indian diabetic persons

Background: With an ever-increasing number of diabetic patients, eye complications particularly diabetic retinopathy has become one of the leading causes of blindness globally. The authors present levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among type-2 diabetes mellitus patients regarding eye complications and their care in Jammu city of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the months of September and October 2024 among T2DM patients attending eye OPD in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Jammu city. A pre-tested and validated questionnaire was used to collect the data on socio-demographic profile, knowledge, attitude, and practices about diabetic eye complications. Results: Of the 270 participants, 52% were males. The majority of the participants had good levels of knowledge with a higher proportion of female respondents knowing that eye treatment is more effective if blood sugar and lipid profile is in the normal range (p<0.05). Attitudes were found to be better among female respondents with more than 2/3rd of them asserting that annual eye check was indicated despite vision being good (p<0.05). Practices among the participants were found to be not up to the desired levels. Conclusions: Results have revealed good levels of knowledge and attitude among participants while practice levels were less than desired and need to be improved.