Diabetes-related eye disease on the rise

Ocular fundus, a disease of the interior of the eye, mostly due to diabetes, is increasingly encountered in local hospitals along with the rising number of people suffering from diabetes and myopia, experts told a national ophthalmology forum in the city.

“Our outpatient service increased by 30 percent last year. Outpatient treatment and surgery for fundus doubled, mainly because of diabetic eye diseases and severe myopia,” said Dr Rong Ao, director of Tongji Hopsital’s Xinshijie Eye Center. “The rise of the elderly population and changes of lifestyles have imposed challenges on ophthalmology departments.”

Nationwide, ophthalmology patients in the outpatient department increased from 87. 4 million in 2012 to 109.4 million in 2016. Diabetic eye disease has increased along with the rise in diabetic patients, with incidence rising from 0.67 percent in 1980 to the current 12 percent with over 130 million patients nationwide. Among people with diabetes, up to 37.5 percent have eye disease.

On the other hand, high incidences of myopia among children and young people also alarm doctors, who said 53.6 percent of children and teenagers suffer from myopia. Prevention and control of myopia remain challenging.