'Early detection of important blindness disease Diabetic retinopathy, screening rate of only 30%'
Oct 23, 2024
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the complications of diabetes, and it is a serious disease that causes structural changes in the eyes, such as blood leakage or swelling due to damage to the fine blood vessels in the retina, and in severe cases, can lead to blindness. It is very important to detect early and receive proper treatment through regular checkups because there are few symptoms in the early stages and it is easy to miss the treatment period if you do not get tested.
As the number of diabetic patients in Korea exceeded 6 million as of 2020, more prevention and management of diabetes complications are needed. Accordingly, Professor Kim Min-seok's research team conducted a study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey from 2016 to 2021 to find out the recent trends in the domestic diabetic retinopathy screening rate.
Results showed that only 29.5% (1109) of 3,717 diabetics over 40 years of age were screened for diabetic retinopathy within the last year, and there was no significant difference between the years. The main factors for retinal checkups were the area of residence, age, and education level, and it was confirmed that elderly people living in towns and villages, older people over 80 years old, and people with low educational standards received less checkups.
Factors related to indifference to health and complacency were also involved, and it was confirmed that patients who rated their health as good or did not have other diseases in their eyes tend to be less screened for diabetic retinopathy. In addition, people who smoke or manage diabetes only with medication without exercise or diet were often not screened.
According to the research team, 29.5%, the domestic diabetic retinopathy screening rate reported in the study, is significantly lower than 37% of the previous domestic survey data (2005, 2007-2009) and requires various efforts such as educational intervention and publicity to increase the screening rate in the future.
Professor Kim Min-seok emphasized that "diabetic retinopathy often has no symptoms until the disease becomes severe", and that "it is essential for diabetic patients to regularly check their eye health status by undergoing fundus examinations."
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in the official international journal of the Korean Medical Society 'Journal of Korean Medical Science'.
As the number of diabetic patients in Korea exceeded 6 million as of 2020, more prevention and management of diabetes complications are needed. Accordingly, Professor Kim Min-seok's research team conducted a study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey from 2016 to 2021 to find out the recent trends in the domestic diabetic retinopathy screening rate.
Results showed that only 29.5% (1109) of 3,717 diabetics over 40 years of age were screened for diabetic retinopathy within the last year, and there was no significant difference between the years. The main factors for retinal checkups were the area of residence, age, and education level, and it was confirmed that elderly people living in towns and villages, older people over 80 years old, and people with low educational standards received less checkups.
Factors related to indifference to health and complacency were also involved, and it was confirmed that patients who rated their health as good or did not have other diseases in their eyes tend to be less screened for diabetic retinopathy. In addition, people who smoke or manage diabetes only with medication without exercise or diet were often not screened.
According to the research team, 29.5%, the domestic diabetic retinopathy screening rate reported in the study, is significantly lower than 37% of the previous domestic survey data (2005, 2007-2009) and requires various efforts such as educational intervention and publicity to increase the screening rate in the future.
Professor Kim Min-seok emphasized that "diabetic retinopathy often has no symptoms until the disease becomes severe", and that "it is essential for diabetic patients to regularly check their eye health status by undergoing fundus examinations."
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in the official international journal of the Korean Medical Society 'Journal of Korean Medical Science'.
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