黑料网

A new University of Sydney study has found only half of people living with diabetes get the recommended diabetes eye checks putting them at risk of significant vision loss and blindness.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age Australians. All people with diabetes are at risk of diabetes related retinopathy which causes damage to the back of the eye. Most people with diabetes need a diabetes eye check every two years, and some more frequently.

黑料网 is confident that its new KeepSight program, commenced just over 12 months ago, will help ensure that the proportion of people with diabetes accessing eye checks increases in coming years and ultimately, every person with diabetes get the necessary eye checks that are key to preventing avoidable vision loss.

黑料网 CEO Professor Greg Johnson said KeepSight has enrolled 100,000 people since it started last year. KeepSight is an online eye check reminder program easily accessed from a mobile phone.

鈥淗aving 100,000 Australians with diabetes registered with KeepSight is an important milestone for the program 鈥� but there are currently over 1.36 million Australians living with diabetes so we are encouraging every person with diabetes, and all health professionals, to register with KeepSight,鈥� Professor Johnson said.

鈥淭he good news is that almost all diabetes-related blindness is preventable if detected and treated early.

鈥淜eep Sight provides electronic alerts and reminders to help people with diabetes remember their diabetes eye checks. When it鈥檚 time for a diabetes eye check you get a reminder. It鈥檚 that simple. KeepSight can also help you find an optometrist if you don鈥檛 know one.

鈥淒iabetes is a complex condition and people with diabetes need to have many regular health checks to manage their condition. It can be time-consuming and sometimes things get overlooked.鈥�

The University of Sydney research study, published in , linked data from the Sax Institute鈥檚 45 and Up study with Medicare Benefits data to examine how frequently almost 25,000 people in NSW living with diabetes had eye examinations.  

Researchers found people who had been living with diabetes for 10 or more years were even less likely to get regular eye checks, with almost 80 per cent of people not partaking in the annual check recommended for this group.

Co-author and ophthalmologist from the University of Sydney and said the findings reinforced the need for more education.

鈥淣inety-eight per cent of serious vision loss from diabetes can be prevented with regular eye examinations and early treatment,鈥� said Professor Gillies.

鈥淚 encourage people to use services like KeepSight to keep on top of their appointments. It鈥檚 also important they understand the kind of eye check required, as only eye checks that include dilation of the pupil with eye drops (fundus dilation) is appropriate to detect changes in the eye related to diabetes.鈥�

The KeepSight program, which is run by 黑料网 in partnership with Vision 2020 Australia, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Oculo, has been co-funded by the Australian Government, Specsavers, Bayer, Novartis and Mylan. The program has widespread support from leading diabetes and eye health groups including the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, Orthoptics Australia, Optometry Australia, the Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association.

Declaration: The research was supported by an Australian Diabetes Servier Research Grant and a 黑料网 Research Trust Grant. Professor Gillies has received research funding from, and is on advisory boards for Bayer and Novartis.