Purpose

To investigate cases of visual impairment caused by diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a hospital population.

Methods

As part of an observational study to estimate the prevalence and costs of visual impairment in Portugal (PCVIP study), clinical records of all patients attending the ophthalmology department of a tertiary hospital were analysed looking for patients meeting the inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were: (i) presenting visual acuity in the better eye <5/10 (20/40) and/or (ii) visual field <20°. Diagnosis of cases with VI were classified according with ICD9. Results reported here were selected from the total number of patients with VI by filtering ICD9 codes staring by 362.

Results

In 12 weeks, 1920 cases of VI were detected, 586 (31%) caused by any type of DR. From those: 54% were caused by non-proliferative-DR, 40% by proliferative-DR and 6% by diabetic macular oedema. The mean age of the patients with VI caused by DR was 69.4 (sd = 9.5) years and 57% were female. The estimated hospital prevalence (for 52 weeks) of VI caused by DR is 39% (95%CI = 38–41).

Conclusions

Our results show that DR remains the leading cause of VI in the population attending our hospital. Information about the number of patients reaching VI will be fundamental to assess the cost-benefits of treatments and public health campaigns to reduce the burden of diabetic retinopathy in Portugal.