Navalgund Surekha1
Diabetes mellitus is major health concern globally, affecting both developed and developing countries. Currently, over 240 million people have been affected worldwide, and this number is expected to reach 370 million by 2030.[1,2] This problem is further complexed by the fact that diabetes is a progressive disease and if not treated, can adversely affect healthy functioning of the body.[3] Just like diabetes, its complications are also progressive and occur because of chronic exposure to hyperglycemia.[4] Diabetes can cause both macrovascular and microvascular complications. Microvascular complications are often seen in the eye, especially in case of uncontrolled type 1 or type 2 diabetes.[5] Therefore, routine eye examinations are warranted in individuals with diabetes. Those with type 1 diabetes should have an initial comprehensive eye exam within 3–5 years of disease onset. However, in type 2 diabetes, most often, the onset of disease and duration are not known, and therefore these patients should have a complete examination immediately after diagnosis, and regularly followed up annually.[6] Sadly, only 50% of individuals with diabetes comply with these recommendations.[7] Those who have uncontrolled diabetes, and do not follow recommendations are at a higher risk of developing more severe complications.[5] Diabetes can lead to various ocular complications of which diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most important and common. Others include cataract, glaucoma, dry eyes, keratopathy, refractive changes, occulomotor nerve palsy, and chronic inflammation of the lids.[8] in the current review, we discuss four important ocular complications of diabetes: DR, cataract, glaucoma and dry eye syndrome.
