Diabetic retinopathy in Victoria, Australia: The visual impairment project

Abstract

Aim - To establish the prevalence, severity, and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in a representative sample of Victorian residents aged 40 years and older. Methods - A population based, cluster sampling method was used to recruit 4744 participants (86% participation rate). Nine randomly selected, suburban Melbourne clusters and four randomly selected, rural Victorian clusters were used. Participants provided a detailed medical and personal history and underwent an ocular examination including funduscopy and fundus photography. Rural participants provided a blood sample, from which the glycosylated haemoglobin percentage was measured. The diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy was based on f..