Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of this study is to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics and overall health burden of patients with a known history of diabetic retinopathy.
Methods :
This is a survey study conducted on patients with diabetic retinopathy at the Retina Service of Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. All subjects were asked to participate in a survey of 30 questions related to their demographics, their diabetes diagnosis and management, and their ability to access to healthcare-related resources. Inclusion criteria included patients with a history of diabetic retinopathy. Exclusion criteria included inability to understand or respond to the survey questions. Outcome measures included sociodemographic characteristics, health information, and financial baseline characteristics of involved participants.
Results :
A total of 240 patients answered the survey. Average age was 58.9 (SD ±11.2) years. Median age of diagnosis was 37 (IQR 26 – 46) years. When evaluating household income, 18.0% of patients had a total annual household income of <$25,000, and 38.1% of patients had a total household income of <$50,000. There were 22 (9.2%) of patients that considered their diabetes as mild, 102 (42.5%) as moderate, 79 (32.9%) as severe, 23 (9.6%) as very severe. There were 13 (5.4%) patients that were not sure about the severity of their diabetes. There were 21 (8.8%) patients that did not know the severity of their diabetic retinopathy. There were 25 (10.4%) patients undergoing dialysis for end-stage renal disease. There were 69 (28.7% ) patients that did not know how many intravitreal injections they received for their diabetic retinopathy.
Conclusions :
Patients with diabetic retinopathy may have several socioeconomic and health burdens which may prevent them from receiving appropriate care. Additionally, some patients may have a poor understanding of their disease.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.