Diabetic retinopathy in children.

The risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), the leading cause of vision loss among working-aged individuals, depends largely upon the duration of diabetes. Pediatric populations would appear to be at low risk for DR but it has been discovered in patients as young as 5.5 years and devastating cases of blindness have been reported in adolescents. Microvascular complications of diabetes, including DR, frequently develop during puberty, thereby making the detection of retinopathy important during these years and those of later adolescence. Retinopathy screening protocols have been written by several organizations but adherence by patients and physicians remains poor. Improved understanding of the risk factors for retinopathy, including many of the recently identified genetic abnormalities, may enable more effective and targeted screening of the diabetic population. Furthermore, advances in imaging technology promise to improve physicians' ability to effectively screen patients for retinopathy within their offices.