Heiner Claessen1,2,3, Tatjana Kvitkina4,2,3, Maria Narres4,2,3, Christoph Trautner5, Iris Zöllner6, Bernd Bertram7, Andrea Icks2,3. 1. Institute for Health Services Research and Health Economics, German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Germany heiner.claessen@ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de. 2. Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Institute for Health Services Research and Health Economics, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. 3. German Center for Diabetes Research, Munich-Neuherberg, Germany. 4. Institute for Health Services Research and Health Economics, German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Germany. 5. Medicine, Science, Consulting, Berlin, Germany. 6. Department of Epidemiology and Health Care Research, Württemberg State Health Office, Stuttgart, Germany. 7. Ophthalmologic Office, Aachen, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Studies comparing the incidence of blindness in persons with and without diabetes are scarce worldwide. In Germany, a decline in the incidence of blindness was found during the 1990s. The aim of this study was to analyze the recent time trend. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were based on administrative files in southern Germany to assess recipients of blindness allowance newly registered between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012. We estimated age- and sex-standardized incidence of blindness in people with and people without diabetes and the corresponding relative risk. Poisson regression was used to examine age- and sex-adjusted time trends. RESULTS: We identified 1,897 new cases of blindness (23.7% of which were associated with diabetes). We observed a strong decrease in incidence in both the population with diabetes (2008, 17.3 per 100,000 person-years [95% CI 13.6-21.1], and 2012, 8.9 per 100,000 person-years [6.3-11.6]: 16% decrease [10-22] per year) and that without diabetes (2008, 9.3 per 100,000 person-years [8.3-10.3], and 2012, 6.6 [5.8-7.4]: 9% decrease [5-13] per year). The relative risk comparing those incidences was 1.70 (95% CI 1.32-2.16) and remained constant in the observation period. Regarding time trend, we found similar results for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant reduction in incidence of blindness in the populations with and without diabetes, which was more prominent among individuals with diabetes compared with the 1990s. Our findings may be explained by effective secondary prevention therapies and improved ophthalmologic care beyond diabetic retinopathy, particularly regarding macular degeneration, which means earlier detection and earlier and better treatment.
OBJECTIVE: Studies comparing the incidence of blindness in persons with and without diabetes are scarce worldwide. In Germany, a decline in the incidence of blindness was found during the 1990s. The aim of this study was to analyze the recent time trend. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were based on administrative files in southern Germany to assess recipients of blindness allowance newly registered between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012. We estimated age- and sex-standardized incidence of blindness in people with and people without diabetes and the corresponding relative risk. Poisson regression was used to examine age- and sex-adjusted time trends. RESULTS: We identified 1,897 new cases of blindness (23.7% of which were associated with diabetes). We observed a strong decrease in incidence in both the population with diabetes (2008, 17.3 per 100,000 person-years [95% CI 13.6-21.1], and 2012, 8.9 per 100,000 person-years [6.3-11.6]: 16% decrease [10-22] per year) and that without diabetes (2008, 9.3 per 100,000 person-years [8.3-10.3], and 2012, 6.6 [5.8-7.4]: 9% decrease [5-13] per year). The relative risk comparing those incidences was 1.70 (95% CI 1.32-2.16) and remained constant in the observation period. Regarding time trend, we found similar results for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant reduction in incidence of blindness in the populations with and without diabetes, which was more prominent among individuals with diabetes compared with the 1990s. Our findings may be explained by effective secondary prevention therapies and improved ophthalmologic care beyond diabetic retinopathy, particularly regarding macular degeneration, which means earlier detection and earlier and better treatment.
Authors: Susanna F König; Georg Spital; Focke Ziemssen; Andreas Stahl; Rainer Guthoff; Armin Wolf; Stephanie Glück; Rodrigo Navarette Navarrete Orozco; Michael Ulbig; Alexander K Schuster; Karsten U Kortuem Journal: Ophthalmologie Date: 2022-09-28
Authors: Zhang Yongpeng; Wang Yaxing; Zhou Jinqiong; Wang Qian; Yan Yanni; Yang Xuan; Yang Jingyan; Zhou Wenjia; Wang Ping; Shen Chang; Yang Ming; Luan Yanan; Wang Jinyuan; Wu Shouling; Chen Shuohua; Wang Haiwei; Fang Lijian; Wan Qianqian; Zhu Jingyuan; Nie Zihan; Chen Yuning; Xie Ying; Jost B Jonas; Wei Wenbin Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-07-18