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Diabetes – What are Diabetic Eye Problems? | Eye Risk Fact With Diabetes | Diabetes Eye Diseases

Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye problems that people with diabetes may face as a complication of diabetes. All can cause severe vision loss or even blindness.Diabetic retinopathy is retinopathy caused by complications of diabetes mellitus, which can eventually lead to blindness. It is an ocular manifestation of systemic disease which affects up to 80% of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. Despite these intimidating statistics, research indicates that at least 90% of these new cases could be reduced if there was proper and vigilant treatment and monitoring of the eyes.If you have diabetes, regular visits to your ophthalmologist for eye exams are important to avoid eye problems. High blood sugar increases the risk of diabetes eye problems. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults age 20 to 74.

If you have eye problems and diabetes, don’t buy a new pair of glasses when you notice you have blurred vision. It could just be a temporary eye problem that develops rapidly with diabetes and is caused by high blood sugar levels.High blood sugar in diabetes causes the lens of the eye to swell, which changes your ability to see. To correct this kind of eye problem, you need to get your blood sugar back into the target range. It may take as long as three months after your blood sugar is well controlled for your vision to fully get back to normal.All people with diabetes mellitus are at risk – those with Type I diabetes and those with Type II diabetes. The longer a person has diabetes, the higher the risk of developing some ocular problem. Between 40 to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. After 20 years of diabetes, nearly all patients with type 1 diabetes and >60% of patients with type 2 diabetes have some degree of retinopathy.

Prior studies had also assumed a clear glycemic threshold between people at high and low risk of diabetic retinopathy.However, it has been shown that the widely accepted WHO and American Diabetes Association diagnostic cutoff for diabetes of a fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/l does not accurately identify diabetic retinopathy among patients. The cohort study included a multi ethnic, cross-sectional adult population sample in the US, as well as two cross sectional adult populations in Australia. For the US based component of the study, the sensitivity was 34.7% and specificity was 86.6%. For patients at similar risk to those in this study, this leads to a positive predictive value of 32.7% and negative predictive value of 87.6%.

Diabetic retinopathy damage to the blood vessels in the retina.Cataract clouding of the eye’s lens. Cataracts develop at an earlier age in people with diabetes.Glaucoma increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of vision. A person with diabetes is nearly twice as likely to get glaucoma as other adults.The American Diabetes Association estimates that 20 million people in the United States have diabetes. One third of this population is unaware of their illness. A recent change in the exact definitions of diabetes and pre diabetes by an international expert committee leads to the estimate that an additional 41 million people in the United States have pre diabetes, a condition that significantly increases their risk for developing diabetes

This new definition underscores the importance for everyone to take steps to help prevent the development of this disease. Individuals can try to avoid the problems associated with diabetes mellitus, including those that affect the eyes, by taking appropriate care of themselves by Maintain a normal weight.Watch your diet, especially limiting unhealthy types of fats and substituting complex carbohydrates for simple carbohydrates.Participate in an exercise program, performing at least 2 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise very week.Do not smoke.Diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of diabetic eye disease, but further complications such as cataracts and glaucoma also affect diabetics. Diabetic eye disease is a term that encompasses a range of eye problems which may affect diabetics. At their most extreme, each of these conditions can cause loss of vision and even blindness. It is worth remembering that all people suffering from diabetes should have a dilated eye examination at least once every year.