Diabetes: a quarter of patients are affected by retinopathy

Diabetes is a scourge that affects millions of people around the world. Among the complications of the disease, diabetic retinopathy is damage to the small vessels of the retina, affected by the disease. According to a new study, 25% of diabetics are affected.

When sugar levels are recurrently too high in the body, due to poorly regulated diabetes, it can have life-threatening complications such as increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and even loss of vision. The latter is due to diabetic retinopathy, damage to the small vessels of the retina, which can lead to blindness.

“Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the microscopic blood vessels of the eyesays Dr. Sapna Gangaputra, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Two types of diabetic retinopathy

There are two major forms of diabetic retinopathy:

• Non-proliferative retinopathy is the early stage of this pathology. There is then swelling and leakage of blood vessels, which creates swelling of the retina. This results in loss of vision or blurred vision, but it can be treated, especially in the early stages of the disease;
• Proliferative retinopathy is a more advanced stage where due to lack of blood flow, new blood vessels begin to form. Unfortunately, these new blood vessels often bleed, resulting in the sensation of seeing “floating spots, in one’s field of vision, if it’s a mild case. The loss of vision may be complete in the event of more severe bleeding.

More than nine million people affected in the United States

For this work, American researchers looked at data from the CDC’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System as well as data from the US Census Bureau.

From the information collected, the researchers were able to estimate that 26.43% of all people with diabetes, or 37 million people in total, 9.6 million people are affected by diabetic retinopathy.

More seriously, for 1.84 million of them, or 5%, there is even a threat to their vision. Among these people, the experts found that people of black or Hispanic race were more affected.

“Uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetes in the main factor responsible for the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. Lack of screening can lead to visual disturbances and even blindness in young patients still of working age” concludes Dr. Sapna Gangaputra.