New Study: Nearly Three in 10 Diabetics Have Diabetic Retinopathy

You may be surprised to learn that almost a third of people with diabetes also has diabetic retinopathy, according to researchers. Nearly one in 20 has retinopathy so severe it threatens their vision, according to Xinzhi Zhang, MD, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of legal blindness among adults. The disease is also higher among African-Americans than Caucasians, Zhang and colleagues reported in the Aug. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Diabetic retinopathy was found in 28.5% of diabetics based on a cross section of patients in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2008.

Read more about the study

Suggested Reading:

• All About Diabetic Retinopathy
• Causes of Diabetic Retinopathy
• Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

_{Source: Smith, Michael. Retinopathy High Among Diabetica. MedPage Today, 10 Aug 2010.}

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