Study Says Diabetic Vision Loss On the Rise Globally

 Study Says Diabetic Vision Loss On the Rise Globally

A new study led by researchers at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) College of Optometry and the Vision and Eye Care Unit at Anglia Ruskin University has found diabetes has become one of the top causes of vision loss around the world.

Researchers studied a 20-year period between 1990 to 2010 and found during that time blindness and visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy increased significantly. According to researchers, in 2010 one in every 39 blind people was blind due to diabetic retinopathy, which was a 27 percent increase since 1990. And of those with moderate or severe vision impairment, one in 52 people had vision loss attributed to diabetes — an increase of 64 percent since 1990.

The study also found South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and West Sub-Saharan Africa were the regions with the highest number of people visually impaired by diabetic retinopathy, while East Asia, Tropical Latin America, and South Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest number of those who were rendered blind by the disease.

The research team attributes poor control of glucose levels and lack of access to eye health services in many parts of the world as some of the reasons behind the increase. Based on their findings, the team recommends public policy planning in the regions most affected by diabetic retinopathy, including the development of evidence-based, cost-effective screening strategies for diabetic retinopathy and increased health education and awareness.

The study was recently published in the journal Diabetes Care.

Click here to read the full press release.

Source: Nova Southeastern University

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