Embedded Files
Page 11
Depending on the criteria used, an estimated 12 to 14 percent of adults in the United States have diabetes.14,19 In 2015, about 1.5 million new cases of diabetes (6.7 per 1,000 persons) were diagnosed in Americans aged 18 years or older.13 If the current trend continues, one in three adults in the United States may have diabetes by 2050.20,21 Because it can lead to blindness, diabetic retinopathy is the most significant vision-threatening complication of diabetes. While advances in the management of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy have reduced the risk of vision loss and blindness,22 more than 1/3 of persons with diabetes do not receive an annual eye examination. The annual rate of dilated eye examinations for adults in the United States varies by state from 49.8 percent in Indiana to 76.7 percent in Massachusetts. Overall, 61.6 percent of American adults with diabetes received a dilated eye examination from 2014-2015.23-25 Rates of eye examinations for elderly persons with diabetes also remain below recommended levels as reported in a nationally representative sample of persons with health insurance coverage.26 In addition, a significant number of individuals with diabetes are not adequately evaluated for signs and symptoms of diabetic eye disease by their primary care physician.27 These findings are of particular concern as many studies, including the Diabetic Retinopathy Study (DRS),28-37 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS),38-55 United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS),8,56-58 Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) studies,7,59-61 and the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) studies62-83 provide evidence-based care interventions that rely on early referral for eye care with prompt and appropriate intervention to lessen the risk for, and the severity of, vision loss related to diabetes.
Google Sites
Report abuse