| CURRENT OPHTHALMOLOGY |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 60
| Issue : 5 | Page : 428-431 |
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The worldwide epidemic of diabetic retinopathy
Yingfeng Zheng1, Mingguang He2, Nathan Congdon2
1 State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China; Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore
2 State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
Correspondence Address:
Nathan Congdon
Department of Preventive Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
 Source of Support: Dr. Zheng is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China 81100686. Dr. He is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China 30772393. Dr. Congdon is supported by a Thousand Man grant from the Chinese government, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.100542
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Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a major microvascular complication of diabetes, has a significant impact on the world's health systems. Globally, the number of people with DR will grow from 126.6 million in 2010 to 191.0 million by 2030, and we estimate that the number with vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (VTDR) will increase from 37.3 million to 56.3 million, if prompt action is not taken. Despite growing evidence documenting the effectiveness of routine DR screening and early treatment, DR frequently leads to poor visual functioning and represents the leading cause of blindness in working-age populations. DR has been neglected in health-care research and planning in many low-income countries, where access to trained eye-care professionals and tertiary eye-care services may be inadequate. Demand for, as well as, supply of services may be a problem. Rates of compliance with diabetes medications and annual eye examinations may be low, the reasons for which are multifactorial. Innovative and comprehensive approaches are needed to reduce the risk of vision loss by prompt diagnosis and early treatment of VTDR. |
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