A study conducted as part of ORNATE India, a U.K.-India collaborative project, has found high prevalence of vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (VTDR) in India, requiring intervention from the government to ensure effective screening and management.
Around 4% of diabetics aged above 40 is estimated to have VTDR, according to the study. Sobha Sivaprasad, professor and consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in the U.K., who is the lead investigator of the project, said this would mean that roughly 3 million of the 79 million diabetic patients in India were at risk of vision impairment.
Diabetic retinopathy, which damages blood vessels in the tissues behind the eyes, largely remained asymptomatic and could progress into VTDR and eventual vision loss if left untreated, the researchers said. The study screened 50,000 people from 10 States and Delhi as part of the study between 2018 and 2020 for the study. Many of those found to have VTDR did not even know that they were diabetic, the study found.
Rajiv Raman, senior consultant, Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Department of Vitreo Retinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya, said that a key observation from the study was that the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was found to be same in both rural and urban areas unlike diabetes, which had relatively increased prevalence among urban population.
He said this could be possibly due to cases of undiagnosed and uncontrolled diabetes being high in rural areas because of lack of adequate healthcare.
Taraprasad Das, vice-chairman, Smt. Kanuri Santhamma Centre for Vitreo Retinal Diseases, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, said that multiple strategies were needed to effectively identify and screen the at-risk diabetic population since screening all those with diabetes could be challenging. He said the findings of the study can be applied not just to India, but also to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka due to the similarities in the nature of the population.
R. Rajalakshmi, consultant ophthalmologist and head of Medical Retina Services, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre (Gopalapuram), said that it was essential for those with diabetes to undergo screening for diabetic retinopathy at least once a year.
She said the ORNATE India project conducted studies to see whether certain biomarkers could be used to easily identify the at-risk population.
Dr. Sivaprasad said the Kerala government had launched a project named Nayanamritham based on the findings of the ORNATE India project to screen high-risk population for diabetic retinopathy through the primary health centres.
