Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Diabetic Retinopathy among Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common metabolic disorder that is characterized by increased circulating blood glucose levels. Long-standing continuous hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) leads to complications affecting many organ systems. The most common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus is Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) which affects the blood vessels of the retina leading to permanent visual loss. This paper aims to assess the knowledge level, attitudes, and practices toward diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia from February 2022 to November 2022. All Saudi diabetic patients of either gender, aged from 18 to 65 were recruited to participate in this study through an E-questionnaire after securing ethical approval and informed consent from the participant. Data was collected and then transferred to the statistical package of social science software (SPSS) to be statistically analyzed. The study included 770 participants, 61.2% of them were females and 38.8% were males. 29.4% of participants were 20-30 years old. 74.9% of participants had good knowledge about diabetic retinopathy while 25.1% had poor knowledge. 30.9% had a positive attitude toward diabetic retinopathy. 84% of participants had good practice towards diabetic retinopathy while 16% had poor practice. Knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were found to be among the reported figures worldwide. Knowledge and attitude of diabetic retinopathy were significantly associated with age, gender, and residence region. However, none of the sociodemographic characters was associated with practice scores.