Date of Conferral

7-16-2024

Date of Award

July 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Sri Banerjee

Abstract

Diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that causes damaged blood vessels and the growth of abnormal ones, leading to vision loss. The two stages of the disease are non-proliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. In the non-proliferative stage, diabetics develop macular edema and ischemia with shortage of blood in the macula region of the eye, and the vision eventually becomes blurry. However, the proliferative stage is the advanced stage of the disease involves neovascularization and retinal detachment. The quantitative study employed the socioecological model as the theoretical framework to examine the relationship between psychological distress and diabetic retinopathy while considering gender. The aim was to determine the role of psychological distress in diabetic retinopathy after controlling for covariates such as age, educational level, and income among U.S. adults. The association between the independent variables, gender and psychological distress, and the dependent variable, diabetic retinopathy was explored. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used as the data source. There was no association between psychological distress, OR = 0.96 (CI 0.60-1.56, p = .84), and gender (OR = 1.65, p = .18), and diabetic retinopathy when controlling for covariates. Further research on patient education and regular screening for diabetic retinopathy in the United States for diabetic patients is necessary. Implications for positive and sustainable social change include providing new insights on ways understanding the pathophysiology of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy could lead to the improvement of psychological distress.

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