PURPOSE: To evaluate the knowledge of diabetic patients about ocular changes that could be caused by diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A hundred diabetic patients were interviewed in the period of three weeks. Those patients had a scheduled appointment at Endocrinology Sector of Guilherme Álvaro Hospital. The patients answered eight questions about ocular changes that could be caused by diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: Sixty-two female and 38 male, 93% with type II diabetes and mean age of 58.64 years (± 15.64 years) were evaluated. Forty patients had the diabetes diagnosed for more than 10 years. Seventy per cent of the interviewed patients presented some knowledge about diabetic ocular changes. The questions about treatment demonstrated that 30 patients did not know any kind of treatment and 63 assured that diabetic ocular changes could be treated. Regarding the treatment options, surgery was mentioned by 33% of the patients while, 27% mentioned glasses, 19% laser therapy and 18% mentioned eye drops. The majority (56%) associated their knowledge to doctor's orientation. Some of them understood that they should be examined every 6 months because they learned that ocular changes are likely to occur as the time of diabetes diagnosis increase. Seventy-eight patients denied any ocular treatment and 12 had already performed some treatment. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that 81% of the diabetic patients presents some knowledge about diabetes ocular changes, but they do not have precise informations.
Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic retinopathy; Cataract; Health knowledge, attitudes, practice
