Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss among working age adults in developed countries. For people with diabetes, the risk of blindness is more than 3 in 100,000 people. The disease affects nearly half of all Americans diagnosed with diabetes, and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults between the ages of 20 to 74. Over 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness occurring each year are attributed to diabetic retinopathy. 

When the blood vessel leakage of diabetic retinopathy causes swelling in the macula, the part of the eye responsible for central vision, the condition is called DME. The Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy found that over a ten-year period approximately 19% of diabetics studied were diagnosed with DME. Based on this study and the current U.S. diabetic population, we estimate there to be a prevalence of close to one million people and an incidence of approximately 300,000 new cases of DME annually in the United States. As detection of diabetes increases, we expect our current estimates of the annual incidence of diagnosed DME to also increase.

The incidence of diabetes is rising, and will continue to do so. Here are some facts regarding diabetes.

• All diabetics with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing some form of diabetic retinopathy.
• The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely they are to develop diabetic retinopathy.
• In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 2007 23.6 million, or 7.8% of the population, are believed to have diabetes, with another 54 million in the pre-diabetic stage.

The American Diabetes Association website http://www.diabetes.org/diabetesstatsitics/prevalence.jsp reveals these additional data:

• 23.5 million, or 10.7% of all people age 20 years or older have diabetes, and 12.2 million, or 23.1% of all people age 60 years or older have diabetes.
• Current statistics reveal an ongoing upward trend in incidences of diabetes, from 2.5% in 1980 to 5.8% in 2007.
• Current estimates are that by 2050 12% of the population will be diagnosed with diabetes.
• At present, one out of five health care dollars is spent caring for someone with diagnosed diabetes, and one in ten health care dollars is attributed to diabetes.
• Diabetics incur medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those without the disease.