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Diabetes and Vision
Diabetes has serious effects on eye health, and rates of the disease are rising rapidly around the globe—in 2007 approximately 246 million people worldwide had the disease, and the International Diabetes Foundation estimates that number will jump to 324 million by 2025.
To make matters worse, there is a disturbing lack of awareness of the impact diabetes has on eye health and vision: In Transitions Optical's second annual Healthy Sight Survey, between one-third and two-thirds of respondents didn't identify vision problems as a side effect of diabetes.
OCULAR EFFECTS
Diabetes can lead to the development of eye diseases, including cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and glaucoma.
Diabetic retinopathy may also lead to retinal cell phototoxicity, which is an extreme adverse reaction to UV light. In the U.S., 40.3 percent of diabetics over age 40 have diabetic retinopathy, and 8.2 percent have vision-threatening retinopathy.
In addition, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts have been associated with reduced contrast sensitivity and also increased susceptibility to glare.
HEALTHY SIGHT EDUCATION
As a result of its survey findings, Transitions released a clinical paper, Healthy Sight Counseling: Diabetes and the Eye, through its Transitions Partners in Education program. (To order a copy of the paper, or to get more information about diabetes and eye health, visit the website www.transitions.com/diabetes.)
| Lens Options for Diabetics |
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| Patients with diabetes should be educated about the benefits of the full range of spectacle lens options and enhancements that are available. These may include: TINTED LENSES, CLIPS, AND SHIELDS—for UV protection and reduction of excessive light. PHOTOCHROMIC LENSES—for adjustable tint level based on changing light conditions. Benefits of photochromics include: ■ Automatic blocking of 100 percent of UV radiation ■ Visual comfort and convenience ■ Reduced eyestrain ■ Enhanced contrast sensitivity ■ Decreased glare |
The paper stresses the need for ECPs to educate patients with or at risk for diabetes about wearing protective eyewear to help guard against UV rays and vision-impairing glare.
WHAT ECPS CAN DO
Healthy Sight Counseling is particularly important for patients with diabetes because of the effects both the disease and its medications can have on vision quality and eye health.
Things that eyecare practitioners can do to ensure vision and eye health in people with diabetes include:
■ Emphasize the importance of frequent dilated eye exams.
■ Monitor signs of ocular disease progression.
■ Monitor signs of suboptimal diabetes control.
■ Communicate and help coordinate care with the patient's primary care provider and endocrinologist. EB
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