Recommendations: Retinopathy

Recommendations for the care of patients with diabetes with respect to retinopathy1 are summarized on this slide To reduce the risk or slow the progression of retinopathy, optimize glycemic control (A) To reduce the risk or slow the progression of retinopathy, optimize blood pressure control (A) Diabetic retinopathy is a highly specific vascular complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with prevalence strongly related to duration of diabetes Diabetic retinopathy is the most frequent cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20–74 years Glaucoma, cataracts, and other disorders of the eye occur earlier and more frequently in people with diabetes In addition to duration of diabetes, other factors that increase the risk of, or are associated with, retinopathy include chronic hyperglycemia2, the presence of nephropathy3, and hypertension496References Klein R. Hyperglycemia and microvascular and macrovascular disease in diabetes. Diabetes Care 1995;18:258-268. Estacio RO, McFarling E, Biggerstaff S, Jeffers BW, Johnson D, Schrier RW. Overt albuminuria predicts diabetic retinopathy in Hispanics with NIDDM. Am J Kidney Dis 1998;31:947-953. Leske MC, Wu SY, Hennis A, et al., for the Barbados Eye Study Group. Hyperglycemia, blood pressure, and the 9-year incidence of diabetic retinopathy: the Barbados Eye Studies. Ophthalmology 2005;112:799-805. American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2013. Diabetes Care 2013;36(suppl 1):S36.