Doctors
warn of diabetes-related eye problems
CHENNAI: One in every 25
people above the age of 40 with diabetes have vision-threatening diabetic
retinopathy – one of the most common complications of uncontrolled diabetes --
doctors said here on Saturday, sharing their observations from a 50-month study
on Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy in India. Senior doctors are now pushing
for the government to use human resources and technology such as artificial
intelligence for early screening of eye complications due to diabetes.
“In a country which has a high incidence of
diabetes, this can be disastrous. We will have an epidemic of blindness if we
fail to do early diagnosis and treatment,” said senior consultant and
ophthalmologist Rajiv Raman of Sankara Nethralaya.
The
multi-centre study, ORNATE, doctors said has given
India-centric evidence on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy care in India that
can offer strong evidence for health policies, he said. A group of senior
doctors have now recommended systematic screening programmes for people above
40 years for early diagnosis of diabetes and its complications across all
states. “Kerala has already made a policy decision to screen people with
diabetes. We want other states to take it up too,” he said.
Instead of waiting for people with diabetes to
come to hospitals for annual screening, doctors suggest screening be taken to
primary health centres or be done at people's doorsteps. “It may be difficult
to mass screen all diabetics for retinopathy every year. But health workers can
assess risk using simple questions and also draw blood samples so labs can look
for some biomarkers. Those at risk should undergo tests,” he said.
During the
study, scientists used commercially available fundus cameras to take pictures
of the eye and use AI to diagnose the disease. “Parallelly, we used a
three-grade screening to verify the results. The healthcare worker confirmed
the diagnosis, which is verified by a doctor in one of the four tertiary care
hospitals such as LV Prasad Eye hospital
or Sankara Nethralaya,” Raman said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/doctors-warn-of-diabetes-related-eye-problems/articleshow/90328677.cms
