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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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It's a health problem with national proportions: loss of eyesight in people with diabetes.
Diabetic eye disease causes as many as 35,000 new cases of blindness every year. And diabetics are 25 times more likely to become blind than those without the disease. In Ohio, 171,117 people ages 40+ that know they have diabetes report having diabetic retinopathy. And with cases of age-related eye disease expected to double by 2030, the number of Ohioans with diabetic retinopathy could increase to 342,234 Ohioans!
Nearly half of the nation's 23 million people with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy, the most common form of diabetic eye disease. Diabetic retinopathy damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Diabetics may also suffer from cataracts and glaucoma.
There are no early warning signs or symptoms for diabetic eye disease. Most people with diabetic eye disease do not realize that their eyesight is slowly deteriorating. The only way to diagnose early signs of diabetic eye disease is through a yearly dilated eye examination. Eyesight loss resulting from diabetes cannot be restored. But about 90 percent of the time, early detection through annual eye exams -- as well as laser surgery in some cases -- has helped preserve further vision loss.
The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to develop diabetic retinopathy. Yet studies show that diabetics who keep their blood sugar levels as normal as possible can slow the onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy and lessen the need for laser surgery to correct vision problems. This may also help reduce other complications from diabetes, such as kidney disease, stroke, and nerve damage.
This article is a NetWellness exclusive. 
Last Reviewed: Aug 05, 2009
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Robert D. Newcomb, OD, MPH, FAAO Professor of Clinical Optometry College of Optometry The Ohio State University |
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