There is no multicenter study defining the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Turkish population. With the coordination of Department of Eye Diseases, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy were aimed to be defined in this study. This cross-sectional prevalence study was started by the preliminary decision of 1996-1998 officials of Medical Retina Division of The Turkish Ophthalmologic Society and held in 14 different centers in the year of 2000. Data from those centers were collected at Gulhane Military Medical Academy, and analytic and statistical studies were performed. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was found 30.5% in 2362 patients included in this study. It was 31.2% in 215 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; 27.7% in 47 patients with non-insulindependent diabetes mellitus for the patients diagnosed before the age of 30, 50.5% in 560 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, 22.7% in 1480 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus for the patients who were diagnosed after the age of 30. Duration of diabetes was the most significant risk factor for development of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diagnosis of diabetes before the age of 30. Other significant risk factors were the use of insulin in the treatment, age at the diagnosis, male sex, and low body mass index. Periodical fundus examination has to be performed in patients with diagnosis of diabetes at the age 30 or older; since diabetic retinopathy increases significantly after puberty, and this examination is generally not necessary before puberty. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was 9.8%, and the prevalence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 0.7% at the time of diagnosis. The early diagnosis of the patients with diabetes at the age of 30 or older and retinal examinations of those patients will lead to earlier diagnosis; and the treatment of diabetic retinopathy may decrease the rate of blindness from diabetes.

Keywords: Diabetes, diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, epidemiology of diabetes, prevalence of diabetes, risk factors