Ophthalmic survey of a diabetic clinic. I: Ocular findings.

A medical diabetic clinic was examined for evidence of diabetic eye disease. Of 681 patients invited for ocular examination 96.6% attended for screening. The results for insulin dependent diabetics (IDDs) and non-insulin dependent diabetics (NIDDs) were analysed separately and the major findings were: Cataracts were present in 40.8% of IDDs and 46.2% of NIDDs, with an increased incidence with advancing age. For younger age groups there were significantly more cataracts in IDDs than in NIDDs (p less than 0.001). Cataract extraction was required in 4.2% of the patients, which is higher than the general population. The presence of retinopathy was related to the duration of diabetes (p less than 0.001) but not to age of onset of diabetes. Retinopathy was found in 43.4% of IDDs and 20.1% of NIDDs. Sight threatening retinopathy was present in 13.3% of IDD and 4.3% of NIDD eyes. Advanced diabetic eye disease was seen in 0.6% of eyes.