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Objectives: The EuroQOL five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) is one of the most widely used tools to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Studies on the psychometric features of the EQ-5D in the Gulf region of the Middle East are lacking. This study is aimed at evaluating the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the EQ-5D in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was done utilizing a convenience sample of Arabic-speaking adult patients or visitors at the outpatient clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Riyadh during October–December 2015. Participants were interviewed using translated into Arabic versions of the EQ-5D and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Known-group construct validity of the EQ-5D and visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) was assessed through testing a number of hypotheses comparing responses to EQ-5D dimensions or EQ-VAS to SF-36 scores by dimension and external variables. Test-retest reliability was also assessed. Results: Eighty subjects were included in the study. Mean ± standard deviartion age was 33.0 ± 11.6 years, with 51% of females. Responses to EQ-5D dimensions revealed that the proportion of respondents reporting problems ranged from 6% for problems with self-care to 48% for pain/discomfort. All of the five hypotheses linking EQ-5D responses to external variables were satisfied. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using Cohen’s κ, which ranged from 0.53 to 1.00. Conclusion: Validity and reliability of the Arabic EQ-5D were established for evaluating HRQOL in Saudi Arabia. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the validity and reliability of this standard tool in other Arabic-speaking countries with varying cultures.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the serious potential complications. It occurs in approximately 77% of the type 2 diabetics within 10 years of the diabetes onset, and almost in all type 1 diabetics. This descriptive retrospective study was conducted by using simple random sample, where data was collected by the research team from patients records by using well designed questionnaire, so 240 patients medical records from King saud hospital in Onaizah at Al qassim region were selected randomly and critically reviewed to measure the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and visual impairment in patients with diabetes mellitus. Data was collected by the research team from patients records by using well designed questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. Ver. 20) where descriptive and analytical statistics were conducted where applicable. This study indicated that the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was 66% while 82% of patients had visual impairment. It also stated that there was statistically significant relationship between; patients ages in year, period of diabetes since diagnosed in years and the visual impairment and between; patients ages in year, and presence of Diabetic retinopathy, p value was less than 0.05 Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy, visual impairment, diabetes mellitus, Al qassim , Saudi Arabia