Young People and their attendance at Diabetic Retinopathy Screening V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme: Attendance, barriers and enablers amongst young people aged 12-26 with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
IRAS ID
248938
Contact name
Tunde Peto
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 7 days
Research summary
Diabetes is becoming more prevalent throughout Northern Ireland. Current figures suggest that there are now 100,000 people in Northern Ireland who have a diagnosis of DM (Diabetes Mellitus), this includes 1,300 young people(aged up to 35). It is also estimated that there are currently 11,521 people who are still undiagnosed. Of these staggeringly high figures, 10% of the 100,000 people have Type 1 diabetes. Recent figures also suggest that the Northern Trust area has the highest number of people with DM with 6.5% of people as compared to 5.4% in the Southern Trust.
DM has many complications following diagnosis and one of the long-standing complications can be Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and Diabetic Maculopathy (DMac), which are both types of Diabetic Eye Disease (DED). It is the most common complication from diabetes and is the leading cause of sight loss and blindness within working aged people in the more economically developed world. It is also important to note that it has been stated that people with Type 1 DM have a higher risk of developing DR than those with Type 2. Therefore it is key to discover the presence of DED in a patient early in order to prevent any irreversible vision loss. Thus Diabetic Eye Screening is essential in order to prevent visual loss
Unfortunately there is a scarcity of data available on the needs and experiences of young people with a diagnosis of DM. This includes reasoning behind lack of attendance at diabetic screening services despite the recommendation of yearly screening. Many studies have stated that lack of attendance at screening can lead to a much higher risk of becoming severely sight impaired.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
19/NI/0112
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion