Open AccessDiabetic retinopathy: An epidemic at home and around the world
Author(s) -
Rajiv Raman,
Laxmi Gella,
Sangeetha Srinivasan,
Tarun Sharma
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
indian journal of ophthalmology/indian journal of ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1998-3689
pISSN - 0301-4738
DOI - 10.4103/0301-4738.178150
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetic retinopathy , diabetes mellitus , blindness , optometry , retinopathy , eye care , visual impairment , population , gerontology , environmental health , endocrinology , psychiatry
Prevention of blindness due to diabetic retinopathy (DR) requires effective screening strategies, for which eye care providers need to know the magnitude of the burden and the risk factors pertinent in their geographical location. It is estimated that around 72 million of the global adult population (around 8.2%) has diabetes and about one-fifth of all adults with diabetes lives in the South-East Asia. In India, around 65 million people have diabetes. As the global prevalence of diabetes increases, so will the number of people with diabetes-related complications, such as DR; nearly one-third of them are likely to develop this complication. This article reviews the present status of diabetes and DR in India, the current situation of DR services and the projections on the load of morbidity associated with retinopathy. The article compiles the Indian studies elucidating the risk factors for DR.