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October 3, 2024

Diabetic Retinopathy in Youths—A Potentially Unappreciated Public Health Catastrophe

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W. K. Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 2Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 3Beetham Eye Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 4Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Maryland
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024;142(11):995-996. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.3877

Ophthalmologists generally consider diabetic retinopathy (DR) to be rare in youths with diabetes. However, recent data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth (SEARCH)1 and Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY)2 studies demonstrated alarming rates of DR after a mean diabetes duration of only 12 years and at a mean age of 26.4 years.2 In the SEARCH study, 52% of youths with type 1 diabetes (T1D) had DR, and in the SEARCH and TODAY studies combined, 49% to 55% of those with youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) had DR. For participants with T2D, at a mean 7.5 years after diagnosis, the standardized prevalence of DR was 31.0%, increasing to 55.7% at a mean 12.4 years after diagnosis.

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