Study on Assessment of Ocular Morbidity and Blindness in Diabetes Mellitus in Rural Population: A cross-sectional Study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an important metabolic disorder characterized by a raised blood glucose resulting from deficiency of insulin release and function. Diabetic microvascular complications in the eyes, especially diabetic retinopathy (DR) are an important cause of visual disability and blindness. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess ocular morbidity among diabetes mellitus patients in a tertiary care centre. Material and Methodology: The present hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Ophthalmology from March 2023 to February 2024.A total of 254 patients above18 years who presented to hospital with Diabetes Mellitus were included in the study. Patients not giving a valid consent, pregnant women and women with gestational diabetes were excluded from the study. Permission from the Ethical Committee was taken prior to commencement of the study and informed written consent was taken from the participants of the study. Data entry and data analysis was done using MS Excel and epi info version 7. Results: The mean age of patients was 48.21 ±14.22 years with majority of females 143 (56.30%). The morbidity pattern among diabetes mellitus patients showed majority of patients had Visual impairment (17.72%) followed by Cataract (16.14%), Diabetic Retinopathy (12.2%), blindness (4.33%). Conclusion: The ocular morbidity among diabetic patients was Visual impairment, Cataract, Diabetic Retinopathy and Blindness.