Diabetic Eye Disease: a Growing Epidemic
According to CDC estimates in 2015,
Diabetes mellitus affected 9.4% of Americans (30.3 million people)1
24% of adults with diabetes
mellitus were undiagnosed1 |
34% of adults aged 18 and older
had prediabetes1 |
33% of the U.S. population
is expected to have diabetes mellitus by 20502 |

In 2015, diabetes mellitus was the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S.1
- CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetic Retinopathy is a common, serious, and undertreated complication
of diabetes3–6
DR is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among people with diabetes between the ages of 20 and 74 years4
DIABETIC RETINOPATHY CAN AFFECT ≈1 OUT OF 3 ADULTS OVER AGE 40 WITH DIABETES5
Hyperglycemia may be the underlying cause of DR and DME7
Diabetic Retinopathy can put patients at risk of vision loss3
- Diabetic Retinopathy detection can occur at various levels of severity3
In a 2013 analysis, the majority of patients with DR were diagnosed with moderate to severe nonproliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR)8

Based on Decision Resources analysis of the estimated 5.8 million adults with DR in 2012.
- DR disease severity can progress to more severe levels at any time3,8
DME is a complication of DR that can occur anytime3
Half the patients newly diagnosed with DME present with visual acuity of worse than 20/409
- 50% of people with DR are expected to develop DME4
- Risk of DME increases with the severity of DR4

Awareness is limited among patients with diabetic eye disease10
In a 2014 study, the majority of patients with DR or DME reported that they had never been told by a doctor that diabetes mellitus was affecting their eyes11

Cross–sectional analysis of 2005–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data; N=798 participants with self–reported diabetes stratified by DR and DME status.
DR Severity Scale (DRSS)
- Useful when describing the clinical features of DR at various stages, allowing for proper diagnosis and appropriately timed intervention with a goal to help stop or reverse disease progression12–15
- Diabetic Retinopathy detection of disease by fundus examination: Fundus photography is typically more sensitive in detecting DR lesions than other imaging methods used in practice16
DRSS
DR severity scores are based on extent and severity of Diabetic Retinopathy ocular findings.





- Images courtesy of Dr. Mohammad Rafieetary. Used with permission.
Scale is adapted from the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study–Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale (ETDRS–DRSS): An established grading scale for measuring the severity of DR, as well as the American Academy of Ophthamology (AAO).
- *The ETDRS-DRSS classifies moderately severe NPDR as level 47 and severe NPDR as level 53.
Example of a 2–Step Improvement on the DRSS*
Mild
Nonproliferative
DR (NPDR)
Moderate NPDR
Moderately
Severe NPDR†
Severe NPDR†
Proliferative
DR (PDR)


- *Adapted from the AAO and ETDRS–DRSS.
- †The ETDRS–DRSS classifies moderately severe NPDR as level 47 and severe NPDR as level 53.

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