Prevalence and Associated Factors of Diabetic Retinopathy in Rural Central India

Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with diabetes was recently estimated to be 34.6% (1–4). Living conditions in markedly rural regions differ considerably from those in urban areas where most previous studies were performed, and there are almost no data on the prevalence of DR available for the rural regions of India. We therefore performed this study in rural central India close to a remote tribal region. We assessed the prevalence of DR in this population mostly untouched by modern industrialization, examined the prevalence of DR within the group of subjects with diabetes, explored the relationship between DR and associated factors, and finally compared the findings with those obtained in studies from other regions and societies. The population-based Central India Eye and Medical Study …