Abstract:
Abstract
Background: Besides the continuous increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, visual
impairment has become a prevailing public health problem in diabetic patients, especially in
developing countries. Evidences are limited on the prevalence and associated factors of visual
impairment among diabetic patients in Ethiopia.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of visual
impairment among diabetic patients at Debre Berhan referral hospital.
Methods and materials: A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out from April 27
to May 19, 2017. All adults with diabetes mellitus at Debre Berhan referral hospital were
included in the study. Pre tested and semi structured questionnaire and ocular examinations
were used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi Info 7 and exported to Statistical package
for social sciences version 20 for analysis. The descriptive analysis was summarized by
frequency, percent and summary statistics. Variables with p-value < 0.2 in bivariable binary
logistic regression, were fitted to multivariable logistic regression. P-values of less than 0.05
were set to declare statistical significance. Adjusted odds ratio and 95% CI were used to
determine the strength of association. Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit was used to
check for model fitness.
Result: A total of 388 study subjects participated in the study. The response rate was 92%.
The median age of study participants was 45 years [IQR 30-56]. The prevalence of visual
impairment was 29.38% (95% CI: 24.83%-33.93%). Age >56 years (AOR=9.7, 95% CI: 3.1-
30.1), 46-56 years (AOR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.1-8.7), physical inactivity (AOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2 -3.7),
history of eye examination (AOR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.05-3.4), lower body mass index (AOR=6.2,
95% CI: 2.1-18.9) and presence of visual symptoms (AOR=4.1, 95% CI: 2.2-7.6) had
statistically significant association with visual impairment.
Conclusion and recommendation: About one third of diabetic patients had visual
impairment
. Diabetic patients are recommended to normalize their body mass index and have
regular physical exercises.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Ethiopia, Prevalence, Visual impairment
