en Ophtalmology Ophtalmology Original Article Original Article <p dir="ltr"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Background:</font> </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Information regarding the frequency and severity of eye involvement in diabetic patients and its risk factors can be useful for prevention and treatment. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and its associated risk factors in diabetic patients who referred to teaching hospitals in Babol, Mazandaran</font>.</span></font></font></font></p> <p dir="ltr"><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><font size="3"> </font><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Methods:</font></span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"> <font face="times new roman,times,serif">In this study a total of 1562 patients with the definite diagnosis of diabetes mellitus were chosen and referred to the eye clinic of Shahid Beheshti and Ayatollah Rouhani Hospitals of Babol during 2006-2010. Information about age, duration of diabetes, hypertension family history of diabetes, history of other organs involvement, BMI and laboratory findings were recorded. Retinopathy was classified according to early treatment of diabetic retinopathy study. Data were collected and analyzed.</font></span></font></p> <p dir="ltr"><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><font size="3"> </font><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Results:</font></span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"> <font face="times new roman,times,serif">Of the 1562 patients, 357 (22.9%) were males and 1205 (77.1%) were females. The mean age was 54.6±10.6 years, diabetic retinopathy was found in 990 (64.1%) patients, the frequency of non-proliferative diabetic<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>retinopathy<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>37.3%<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>proliferative was 26.8%.Age, duration of diabetes, FBS, HbA1C, BUN, Cr, Hb were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><font size="2"> </font></span>significantly different between the patient’s with diabetic retinopathy and no diabetic retinopathy (p<0.05). No relationship was found between smoking, gender, hypertension and serum lipid profile.</font></span></font></p> <p dir="ltr"><font face="times new roman,times,serif"><font size="3"> </font><b><i><span style="color: blue font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Conclusion:</font> </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 10pt"><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Poor diabetes control anemia and nephropathy were the most associated factors of diabetic retinopathy but hypertension BMI smoking, dyslipidemia and gender showed no association.</font> </span></font></p> <p dir="ltr"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p> Diabetic retinopathy, Diabetes mellitus, Risk factors 224 228 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-281-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Seyed Ahmad Rasoulinejad rasolisa2@gmail.com 10031947532846004223 10031947532846004223 Yes Department of Ophthalmology, Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. Karimollah Hajian drhajian@yahoo.com 10031947532846004224 10031947532846004224 No Babol University of Medical Sciences Elnaz Mehdipour ans_dep@yahoo.com 10031947532846004225 10031947532846004225 No Babol University of Medical Sciences