Global estimates on the number of people blind or visually impaired by diabetic retinopathy: a meta-analysis from 2000 to 2020
Vision Loss Expert Group of the Global Burden of Disease Study, Katie Curran, Tunde Peto, Jost B. Jonas, David S. Friedman, Judy E. Kim, Janet L Leasher, Ian Tapply, Arthur Gustavo Fernandes, Maria Vittoria Cicinelli, Alessandro Arrigo, Nicolas Leveziel, Serge Resnikoff, Hugh R. Taylor, Tabassom Sedighi, Seth Flaxman, Mukkharram M. Bikbov, Tasanee Braithwaite, Alain M. Bron, Ching‐Yu Cheng, Monte A. Del Monte, Joshua R. Ehrlich, João M. Furtado, Gus Gazzard, M. Elizabeth Hartnett, Rim Kahloun, John H. Kempen, Moncef Khairallah, Rohit Khanna, Van Charles Lansingh, Kovin Naidoo, Vinay Nangia, Michał Nowak, Konrad Pesudovs, Pradeep Y. Ramulu, Fotis Topouzis, Mitiadis Tsilimbaris, Ya Xing Wang, Ningli Wang, Rupert Bourne, the GBD 2019 Blindness and Vision Impairment Collaborators, Katie Curran, Tunde Peto, Rupert Bourne, Janet L Leasher, Jost B. Jonas, David S. Friedman, Judy E. Kim, Arthur Gustavo Fernandes, Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Hamid Ahmadieh, Ayman Ahmed, Ahmad Samir Alfaar, Louay Almidani, Hubert Amu, Sofia Androudi, Jalal Arabloo, Aleksandr Y. Aravkin, Mulu Tiruneh Asemu, Ahmed Y. Azzam, Nayereh Baghcheghi, Freddie Bailey, Mehmet Fırat Baran, Mainak Bardhan, Till Bärnighausen, Amadou Barrow, Pankaj Bhardwaj, Mukharram M. Bikbov, Tasanee Braithwaite, Paul Svitil Briant, Katrin Burkart, Luis Alberto Cámera, Kaleb Coberly, Omid Dadras, Xiaochen Dai, Amin Dehghan, Berecha Hundessa Demessa, Mengistie Diress, Thanh Chi, Thao Huynh Phuong, Клара Докова, Bruce Bartholow Duncan, Michael Ekholuenetale, Muhammed Elhadi, Mohammad Hassan Emamian, Mehdi Emamverdi, Hossein Farrokhpour, Ali Fatehizadeh, Lorenzo Ferro Desideri, João M. Furtado, Mesfin Gebrehiwot, Fariba Ghassemi, Mesay Dechasa Gudeta, Sapna Gupta, Veer Bala Gupta, Vivek Gupta, Billy R. Hammond, Mehdi Harorani, Hamidreza Hasani, Golnaz Heidari
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate global and regional trends from 2000 to 2020 of the number of persons visually impaired by diabetic retinopathy and their proportion of the total number of vision-impaired individuals. METHODS: Data from population-based studies on eye diseases between 1980 to 2018 were compiled. Meta-regression models were performed to estimate the prevalence of blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60) and moderate or severe vision impairment (MSVI; <6/18 to ≥3/60) attributed to DR. The estimates, with 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs], were stratified by age, sex, year, and region. RESULTS: In 2020, 1.07 million (95% UI: 0.76, 1.51) people were blind due to DR, with nearly 3.28 million (95% UI: 2.41, 4.34) experiencing MSVI. The GBD super-regions with the highest percentage of all DR-related blindness and MSVI were Latin America and the Caribbean (6.95% [95% UI: 5.08, 9.51]) and North Africa and the Middle East (2.12% [95% UI: 1.55, 2.79]), respectively. Between 2000 and 2020, changes in DR-related blindness and MSVI were greater among females than males, predominantly in the super-regions of South Asia (blindness) and Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania (MSVI). CONCLUSIONS: Given the rapid global rise in diabetes and increased life expectancy, DR is anticipated to persist as a significant public health challenge. The findings emphasise the need for gender-specific interventions and region-specific DR healthcare policies to mitigate disparities and prevent avoidable blindness. This study contributes to the expanding body of literature on the burden of DR, highlighting the need for increased global attention and investment in this research area.