March 1, 2001 — A study completed in the month of March, indicates that more than one-third of people with diabetes do not adhere to vision care guidelines established by the American Optometric Association, the Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Diabetes Association.

According to the study, nearly all people with diabetes will experience some form of diabetic retinopathy over time. Diabetic retinopathy is a potentially serious condition in which the blood vessels inside the retina become damaged from the high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes. The retina is the nerve layer that lines the inside of the eye and converts light into nerve signals that the brain can interpret. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults in the United States each year, accounting for 8,000 cases annually and costing the United States $500 million in lost income.

Researchers asked 2,308 people with diabetes if they had a yearly dilated eye examination as recommended in the guidelines, and then evaluated factors affecting whether or not they received the examinations. The study was conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University Medical Center at Stony Brook, New York and supported by a grant from the National Eye Institute. Eight hundred thirteen study participants (35 percent) reported they had not received dilated eye examinations in the year prior to the study interview.

It is important to dilate the pupils when examining eyes of people with diabetes to get an adequate view of the retina. Without dilating the eye, it's like looking inside a room through a keyhole instead of an open door. Treatment is most effective in saving vision if diabetic eye disease is diagnosed in the early stages.

Another finding was that people with type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes were more likely to have annual dilated eye examinations than those with type 2 or adult-onset diabetes. Although vision loss tends to be more severe in patients with type 1 diabetes, the lack of adherence among those with type 2 diabetes was considered a public health concern, since approximately 90 percent of diabetic patients have type 2 diabetes. The differences in examinations by diabetes type may reflect the practices of some health care providers who believe it is not cost-effective for people with type 2 diabetes, without signs of diabetic retinopathy, to have an annual dilated-eye examination.

• Providing both patients with diabetes and health care providers information about diabetes and diabetes-related eye disease;
• Educating both patients with diabetes and health care professionals about the importance of dilated eye examinations;
• Encouraging physicians to recommend annual dilated eye examinations to their patients with diabetes.

The importance of receiving regular dilated eye examinations for diabetic patients allows early detection and treatment options before vision loss occurs. Every patient with diabetes always receives dilated annual eye examinations at Village Optical.