Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy high in US, expected to grow in coming years
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Key takeaways:
- Researchers estimated that 9.6 million people in the U.S. have diabetic retinopathy.
- Eye care and diabetic retinopathy screening need to be prioritized in those with diabetes.
The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the U.S. remains high and may continue to grow due to the increase in diabetes in patients of all ages, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
“The most important finding of this work is the significant number of people estimated to have diabetic retinopathy in the U.S. (9.6 million), which is more than double the previous estimate,” study author David B. Rein, PhD, MPA, senior fellow and program director, NORC, at the University of Chicago, told Healio. “This finding is driven primarily by the large increase in diabetes in the United States that has occurred over the last 20 years, and this study underscores the importance of prioritizing eye care and diabetic retinopathy screening among people with diabetes.”
Rein and colleagues aimed to update estimates of the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and vision-threatening DR in 2021 based on demographic factors and U.S. county and state using previous studies, analyses and claims data.
The 9.6 million people estimated to have DR in the U.S. represented 26.43% of those with diabetes in 2021, Rein said, while the 1.84 million people estimated to have vision-threatening DR represented 5.06% of those with diabetes.
“Additionally, the study estimated a prevalence rate of DR of 13% among people with diabetes who are younger than 25 years,” he said.
This finding demonstrates that DR is a common complication of diabetes at any age, with the prevalence of diabetes-related eye disease in the U.S. expected to grow in the coming decades because of the higher rate of diabetes in youths and young adults.
“While we don’t know the exact reasons why rates of diabetic retinopathy vary so much by state and county, we know from previous research that counties in the South have the lowest number of eye care providers per capita and that rural/nonmetropolitan counties have a lower density of ophthalmologists than metropolitan counties,” Rein said. “Therefore, access to eye care and DR screening and early intervention could contribute to the geographic variation in DR found in our study.”
According to Rein, it is important to understand the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions designed to improve screening and early treatment for DR.
“There are interventions that expand telemedicine and teleretinal screening to rural areas of the U.S. to improve DR screening, detection and early intervention,” he said. “Better understanding the effectiveness of these interventions and factors that influence the effectiveness could improve the delivery of these interventions, targeting of interventions to patients at highest risk, and long-term outcomes for patients with diabetes.”
References:
- Feng PW, et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2020;doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2020.05.018.
- Gibson DM. Prev Med. 2015;doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.01.008.
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