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An assessment of the coverage of a district‐wide diabetic retinopathy screening service
Author(s) -
Buch H. N.,
Barton D. M.,
Varughese G. I.,
Bradbury S.,
Scarpello J. H. B.,
Walker A. B.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2005.01519.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetic retinopathy , diabetes mellitus , retinopathy , ethnic group , attendance , type 2 diabetes , ophthalmology , endocrinology , sociology , economic growth , anthropology , economics
Aims To assess the coverage of the diabetes retinopathy screening service (DRSS) in North Staffordshire, to identify patient characteristies associated with non‐attendance and to assess the proportion of patients with diabetic retinopathy who achieved glycaemic and blood pressure (BP) control targets. Methods Data for all patients who underwent annual retinal screening between 1 May 2000 and 30 April 2001 were obtained from the North Staffordshire Diabetes Register. Age, gender, ethnicity, socio‐economic status, type and duration of diabetes were compared between patients who underwent eye screening and those who did not. Frequencies of patients who achieved glycaemic and BP targets in these groups of patients were compared to the remaining patients. Results 5646 of the 11682 (48%) patients on the diabetes register underwent retinal screening during the year. Patients with Type 2 diabetes, older patients, patients belonging to ethnic minorities and those wholly managed in primary care were less likely to attend for eye screening ( P < 0.05 for all groups) with ethnic minority or primary care management demonstrating independent influence ( P < 0.001). The percentage of patients with retinopathy achieving HbA 1c and systolic BP targets was significantly lower than in their unaffected counterparts (χ 2 = 63, P < 0.001 and χ 2 = 71, P < 0.001 respectively). Conclusions The efficacy of the DRSS in North Staffordshire is low and might be improved by targeting specific patient groups. Glycaemic control and systolic BP control needs to be improved in patients with diabetic retinopathy.