Research on the global burden of diabetic retinopathy (DR) has revealed a three-fold increase in blindness caused by the disease over the past 30 years.
Investigators at the Sun Yat-Sen University in China said their analysis of recent population data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed a 326% rise in DR-related blindness between 1990 and 2021.
It also revealed that the age-standardised prevalence rate (ASPR) of DR-related blindness had risen from 7.59 to 15.28 per 100,000 population.
This “painted a worrying picture”, they said. “More efforts should be made to mitigate the growing impact of DR-related blindness.”
The researchers said the increase was accompanied by great variations across regions, countries, and sociodemographic groups.
Tropical Latin America had the highest ASPR in 2021, with more than 43 cases per 100,000 people – 161 times greater than the region with the lowest ASPR –Australasia (0.27/100,000).
South Asia and East Asia had the greatest number of prevalent regional cases. The two regions accounted for 44.8% of the global total.
Nationally, India and China had the highest number of prevalent cases in 2021.
The study said the findings highlighted the urgent need for targeted public health interventions to mitigate the growing impact of DR-related blindness, especially in the context of the global diabetes epidemic.
“This worrying trend coincides with the explosive increase in diabetes prevalence worldwide, which is driven by factors such as population ageing, urbanisation, unhealthy dietary habits, sedentary lifestyles, and obesity,” researchers wrote.
“To address this growing burden, strengthening public health initiatives, improving access to diabetes care, and implementing widespread screening programs are critical.
“Early screening for DR, particularly vision-threatening DR, can significantly reduce the burden of vision loss.”
The study said an estimated 1.33 million people worldwide were blind due to DR in 2021, making it the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population, despite being a preventable and treatable condition.
The researchers concluded by saying that Future research should focus on identifying effective interventions and policies to address upcoming challenges.
