Diabetes is a disease that affects the way we process food. With all forms of diabetes, the body has trouble converting sugar in the blood into energy.
People with diabetes are more likely to develop vision-threatening conditions
- Cataracts
- Glaucoma
- Macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetes Statistics
- Almost 26 million people in the United States have diabetes.
- There has been an 89% increase in the number of people with diabetic retinopathy from 2000 to 2010.
- Over 4.2 million adults were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy as recently as 2008.
- People with diabetes are 25 times more likely to go blind than those who are not diabetic.
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This common form of diabetic retinopathy affects 50% of people that have had diabetes 10 years or longer.
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This is the most severe form of diabetic retinopathy.
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Permanent damage from diabetic macular edema is the number one cause of diabetes-related blindness.