NEHEP Programs

Diabetic Eye Disease Program Goals

• Create awareness about diabetic eye disease among people with diabetes, with an emphasis on those at higher risk (African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, and Alaska Natives), and/or those with diabetic eye disease.
• Create awareness about diabetic eye disease to primary care and other healthcare providers.

Diabetic Eye Disease Program Objectives

• Develop and implement a new program for American Indians and Alaska Natives with diabetes.
• Develop collaborations with the Partnership and other organizations to reach people with diabetes.
• Develop and implement a new module on diabetic eye disease in English and Spanish for use with lay health educators.
• Develop and implement two strategies to educate healthcare providers about the eye complications of diabetes.
• Implement a communication mechanism with the National Diabetes Education Program to ensure that vision complications are incorporated into their messages.

Diabetic Eye Disease Prevalence Data

Diabetes has become an epidemic in the United States, and projections for new cases in the coming years are alarming. In 2003, 18.2 million people were estimated to have diabetes, representing 6.3 percent of the U.S. population.¹ People with diabetes have a significantly higher risk of blindness than the general population. Diabetic eye disease is a complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. There are no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic eye disease. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in people with diabetes is high. It is estimated that 40.8 percent of adults aged 40 and older with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy and that 8.2 percent have advanced, vision-threatening retinopathy. More than 4 million Americans (3.4 percent) aged 40 and older have some form of diabetic retinopathy and this number is projected to reach 6.1 million by the year 2020.² No gender differences have been reported in any racial/ethnic groups for diabetic eye disease.

The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy increases, on average, across successive age groups. However, lower prevalence rates of diabetic retinopathy have been observed in the oldest group (75 years and older) compared with those aged 65 to 74.³

Prevalence rates for diabetes are higher among racial and ethnic minorities than the general population. African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, and Alaska Natives aged 20 and older are at least 1.5 times more likely to have diagnosed diabetes than their White counterparts. Studies have found that the prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy is greater in African Americans with type 2 diabetes than in non-Hispanic Whites.³ No gender differences have been reported between any racial/ethnic groups for diabetic retinopathy.

Data from the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES) suggest that the prevalence of diabetic eye disease is high among Latinos, primarily those of Mexican ancestry.⁴ Researchers also found that Latinos appear to have a higher rate of severe, vision-threatening diabetic eye disease than non-Hispanic Whites.

Diabetic retinopathy also poses a serious health threat to American Indian and Alaska Native populations. One study showed a 49 percent prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Oklahoma Indians. Pima Indians, the most widely studied American Indian group, also have excessive rates of diabetic retinopathy.⁵

In recent years, researchers have identified an emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents. American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, and African American children are especially affected.