The prevalence of retinopathy among type 2 diabetic patients in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most major causes of blindness and disability in diabetic patients and imposes very high cost on Health Care System. Studies conducted in the country showed different and inconsistent prevalence of the disease. The study aims to determine the overall prevalence of retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The present study was conducted via meta-analysis method during March, 2000 to October, 2018. The articles related to the subject under study were obtained from Magiran, SID, Medline (PubMed), Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar databases. I2 index was used to examine the heterogeneity of articles studied; and the data was analyzed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software. Through the study of 34 articles and 17,079 individuals with age range of 5–83, the overall prevalence of retinopathy for type 2 diabetic patients in Iran and on the basis of meta-analysis, was obtained that was 37.8% (32.84–43%, 95% confidence interval); the highest prevalence of retinopathy for type 2 diabetic patients was in Tehran province with 78% (68.8–85.1%, 95% confidence interval) in 2006 and the lowest prevalence of retinopathy for type 2 diabetic patients was in Isfahan province with 9% (7.1–11.4, 95% confidence interval) in 2006; furthermore, the prevalence of retinopathy for type 2 diabetic patients in Iran increases with increased sample size that it was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Regarding the high prevalence of retinopathy for type 2 diabetic patients in the country, it is essential that health policy makers take effective measures to reduce the disease incidence in diabetic patients.