Diabetes and the eyes: why a retina check every year matters
Dr. Swati Goyal · 7 May 2024 · 6 min
On the figures cited in the video, around 9.6 per cent of people in India have diabetes. Of them roughly 12 per cent go on to develop diabetic retinopathy, and of those with retinopathy about 4 per cent reach a stage that threatens their sight.
Diabetes comes in three forms — type 1, type 2, and the gestational diabetes of pregnancy.
Three ways diabetes reaches the eye
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Diabetic retinopathy — the commonest.
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Cataract.
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Glaucoma.
The risk of both cataract and glaucoma is roughly doubled by diabetes.
How diabetic retinopathy develops
When blood sugar stays high over a long period, blood vessels throughout the body are damaged. When that happens to the vessels inside the eye and they block, the body grows new ones in their place.
But these new vessels do not work properly. They leak — fluid and protein seep out of them, which later causes swelling. And they are fragile, so they bleed easily and repeatedly.
How to lower the risk
First, keep your blood sugar steady and under control. If the HbA1c — which reflects your average blood glucose over the previous three months — stays between six and seven, the risk of diabetes-related complications falls considerably.
If diabetes has already affected your eye, have a dilated eye examination — the pupil widened so the whole retina can be seen — every four to six months, or as often as your doctor advises.
If you have diabetes, your eyes should be examined once a year — even when nothing at all is troubling you.