The pandemic of diabetes is a recognized public health problem. Preventative efforts at all levels—primary, secondary, and tertiary—are required to stop the pandemic from spreading further. To create preventive methods that are both affordable and successful, it is first necessary to understand the extent of illness prevalent today.
According to a recent study, about 10 million Americans are in danger of going blind from diabetic retinopathy. According to experts, the eye condition affected 9.6 million Americans in 2021, or 26% of those with diabetes, and roughly 2 million had “vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy” (VTDR), the most severe form. That is 5% of people who have the disease.
This study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, the study’s results, according to researcher David Rein, senior fellow and director of the Public Health Analytics Programme at NORC at the University of Chicago, “illustrate the burden of this potentially vision-threatening diabetes complication.” “This finding emphasizes the importance of prioritizing eye care and diabetic retinopathy screening among people with diabetes and is primarily driven by the large enhancement in diabetes in the USA over the last 20 years,” he said.
According to Dr. Talia Kaden, an ophthalmologist at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital in New York City, diabetic retinopathy affects the small blood vessels in the eye. “The tiny vessels in the retina of the eye may become injured and abnormal, you may experience a loss of blood flow to areas of the eyeball which may result in inflammation in the inner part of the eye, hemorrhage in the back of the eye, and the development of abnormal blood vessels,” the expert explained. “It can cause vision loss if not treated.”
According to the study, more than twice as many Americans (one in four) 40 years of age or beyond suffer diabetes-related eye problems. Additionally, the number of people with VTDR has nearly doubled. More than 10% of those with diabetes aged 24 and under and approximately 1 in 5 people aged 25 to 39 had diabetic retinopathy. The results showed that compared to white persons (4%), the prevalence of VTDR was higher in Black (9%) and Hispanic (7%) people.
“This suggests that adverse social determinants of health like poverty, lack of access to health care, and probably poor nutrition and physical activity result in a higher incidence of diabetes, poorer control of glucose among people with diabetes, and greater rates of complications like diabetes-related retinopathy,” Rein said.
Rates of diabetic retinal degeneration also varied by state, with Nevada having the lowest rate at 21% and Hawaii having the highest at 34%. According to the experts, it is not surprising that the Deep South and other economically depressed regions have the most excellent prevalence rates. Diabetic eye illness should be prioritized in diabetes treatment, according to a specialist who submitted an editorial published alongside the study. She urged doctors and patients to take proactive measures to ward off blindness.
